WHO sees coronavirus as No.1 threat; markets optimistic worst is over

Workers operate a vehicle to carry out disinfection in Jianghan district, following an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, Hubei province, China February 10, 2020. China Daily via REUTERS

GUANGZHOU, China/GENEVA (Reuters) - The coronavirus outbreak in China may be over by April, the country's senior medical adviser said on Tuesday, but deaths surpassed 1,000 and the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of a global threat potentially worse than terrorism.

The world must "wake up and consider this enemy virus as public enemy number one," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters, adding the first vaccine was 18 months away.