World has 'window of opportunity' to halt virus spread: WHO chief

The dramatic measures taken by China to rein in the deadly novel coronavirus outbreak have prevented significant spread abroad, providing a "window of opportunity" to halt transmission, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

The chance was there because of "the strong measures China is taking at the epicenter... Let's not miss this window of opportunity," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a technical briefing on the virus to the UN agency's executive board.