Asia was hardest hit, with Hong Kong recording almost 300 deaths. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern , prompting countries to take unprecedented measures. John Nicholls, clinical professor of pathology at the University of Hong Kong with CNN's Kristie Lu Stout. Malik Peiris, a public health virologist at HKU who advises the WHO, said one optimistic sign was that the novel coronavirus appeared to have a lower fatality rate than SARS. He is now the head of Hong Kong SARS Mutual Help Association -- a group of SARS survivors which is calling on the Hong Kong government to take tougher measures to end the outbreak.

Source: CNN February 06, 2020 04:46 UTC