Analysis - Can the coronavirus be stopped?
We now know this is not a virus that will burn out on its own and disappear.
Only the decisions being made in China - including shutting down cities - can stop it spreading.
Scientists have revealed each infected person is passing the virus on to between 1.4 and 2.5 people.
It is known as the virus's basic reproduction number - anything higher than 1.0 means it's self-sustaining.
Those figures are early estimates, but put coronavirus in roughly the same league as Sars (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). There are two crucial outstanding questions - who is infectious and when are they infectious.
The fact only 25% of reported cases are severe is a mixed blessing.
Yes, that is less dangerous than Sars, but if those hard-to-detect mild or maybe symptomless cases are contagious too, then it is much harder to contain.
And we still don't know when people are contagious. Is it before symptoms appear, or only after severe symptoms emerge? One is significantly harder to stop spreading than the other.
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