The coronavirus outbreak does not constitute a pandemic but an epidemic with "multiple foci", WHO director of global hazard preparedness Sylvie Briand has said.
WHO says coronavirus is 'not a pandemic'
Speaking at a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday (February 4) to address rumours surrounding its spread, Briand said there was no evidence that the virus was mutating, adding that facemasks alone would not halt its transmission.
Hong Kong reported its first coronavirus death on Tuesday, the second outside mainland China from the fast-spreading outbreak that has killed 427 people.
Hong Kong's first fatality was a 39-year-old man with an underlying illness who had visited China's Wuhan city, the epicentre of the outbreak, hospital staff said.
Total infections in mainland China rose to 20,438, and there have been nearly 200 cases elsewhere across 24 countries and China's special administrative regions Hong Kong and Macau.