The peak of the new deadly coronavirus outbreak in China will occur in about 7-10 days, but there will be no large-scale growth of the infection, head of the special expert commission of China's National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) Zhong Nanshan said on Tuesday.
"It is very difficult to predict exactly when the peak of the outbreak will happen, but I think it will take place sometime within one week to 10 days. However, there will be no large-scale growth [of the infection]", the expert said, as quoted by China's state-run Xinhua news outlet.
Earlier in the day, the Chinese ministry assured that the country has all the necessary means and resources to fight the novel coronavirus.
The unknown type of viral pneumonia was first reported in Wuhan in early January and has since been confirmed by China and the World Health Organisation to be a new strain of the coronavirus, currently labelled as 2019-nCoV or Novel Coronavirus. The symptoms of the new coronavirus are typical of the common cold or flu: fever, coughing, sneezing, and difficulty breathing.
2019-nCoV has been detected in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, Australia, France, Germany, Canada, and the United States, prompting special screenings for passengers coming from Asia at airports around the globe..