Coronavirus contagion rate makes it hard to control - studies

People wear face masks as they select products in a supermarket in Beijing as China is hit by an outbreak of the new coronavirus, January 25, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

LONDON (Reuters) - Each person infected with coronavirus is passing the disease on to between two and three other people on average at current transmission rates, according to two separate scientific analyses of the epidemic.

Whether the outbreak will continue to spread at this rate depends on the effectiveness of control measures, the scientists who conducted the studies said. But to be able to contain the epidemic and turn the tide of infections, control measures would have to halt transmission in at least 60% of cases.