Coronavirus threatens global economy as experts warn no country will be spared

Employees from a disinfection service company sanitize a shopping district in Seoul, South Korea, February 27, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

GENEVA/DUBAI (Reuters) - All countries need to prepare to combat the coronavirus, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, as authorities raced to contain the epidemic's rapid global spread and Wall Street looked set for its biggest weekly fall since the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

With new infections reported around the world now surpassing those in mainland China, World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said even rich nations should prepare.