The novel coronavirus outbreak is hitting a peak in China this month and may be over by April, the government’s senior medical advisor has said in the latest assessment of the epidemic.

In a 90-minute exclusive interview on Tuesday, Dr Zhong Nanshan, an 83-year-old epidemiologist who won fame for combating the SARS epidemic in 2003, shed tears about ophthalmologist Dr Li Wenliang, who died last week after being reprimanded for raising the alarm.

But Dr Zhong was optimistic that the outbreak would soon slow, with the number of new cases caused by the coronavirus — now known as SARS-CoV-2 (2019-nCoV) — already declining in some places.

The peak should come in middle or late February, followed by a plateau and decrease, Dr Zhong said, basing the forecast on mathematical modelling, recent events and government action.