Will the coronavirus become a pandemic? The experts weigh in
As the number of infected people reaches 20,000, there is no consensus on what happens next
The 2019 novel coronavirus may be poised to develop into a pandemic, according to some of the world’s leading infectious diseases experts.
“It’s very, very transmissible and it almost certainly is going to be a pandemic,” Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, told the New York Times.
“But will it be catastrophic? I don’t know.”
The coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China, has infected more than 20,000 people, with the death toll rising to 425 on Monday evening, up by a record 64 deaths from the previous day, according to official figures from China.
