The World Health Organisation said the deadly outbreak of the novel coronavirus does not constitute a "pandemic".

Sylvie Briand, director of global Infectious Hazard Preparedness at the WHO, said on Tuesday, "Currently we are not in a pandemic, we are at a phase where we have an epidemic of coronavirus with multiple foci and we try to extinguish the transmission in each of these foci."

Briand also stressed the importance in tackling misinformation and rumors surrounding the virus which has so far killed 425 people and infected more than 20,000.