Professor Michael Baker from Otago University's department of public health. Photo: RNZThe new coronavirus appears to be spreading in a "silent transmission" pattern, and is looking far more like a pandemic than Sars was in 2003, a University of Otago public health expert says. The death toll yesterday surpassed that of the outbreak of Sars - another type of coronavirus - in 2003. Pandemic looking likely, death toll will be 'very much higher' than SarsOtago University public health professor Michael Baker told RNZ's Morning Report that the virus was looking far more like an influenza pandemic than the Sars outbreak, but it was useful to compare them. She said the government was assessing border controls every 48 hours based on the advice from the World Health Organisation and public health specialists.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 09, 2020 22:30 UTC