Most of the people infected with Covid-19 have recovered, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday.

"We need to remember that with decisive, early action, we can slow down the virus and prevent infections. Among those who are infected, most will recover.

"Of the 80,000 reported cases in China, more than 70 percent have recovered and been discharged," director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

"It’s also important to remember that looking only at the total number of reported cases and the total number of countries doesn’t tell the full story. Of all the cases reported globally so far, 93 percent are from just four countries," he told journalists in Geneva, Switzerland.

"This is an uneven epidemic at the global level. Different countries are in different scenarios, requiring a tailored response.

"It’s not about containment or mitigation – which is a false dichotomy. It’s about both," he said.

Confirmed cases of Covid-19 breached over 100,000 in 100 countries at the weekend, according to WHO situation reports as of Sunday (8 March), there were 105,586 confirmed cases worldwide, in China 80,859 confirmed (46 new) with 3,100 deaths (27 new).

Outside of China there were 24,727 confirmed  cases (3,610 new) with  484 deaths (71 new) in  101 countries.

"It’s certainly troubling that so many people and countries have been affected, so quickly. Now that the virus has a foothold in so many countries, the threat of a pandemic has become very real.

"But it would be the first pandemic in history that could be controlled. The bottom line is: we are not at the mercy of this virus," he said.

He said countries that continue finding and testing cases and tracing their contacts not only protect their own people, they can also affect what happens in other countries and globally.