Officials at the World Health Organization (WHO) said that more than 70% who have been sickened by COVID-19 in China have recovered.

Four countries including China, South Korea, Italy and Iran account for 93% of the nearly 110,000 cases reported by more than 100 countries worldwide, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said

during a press conference on the outbreak of the Coronavirus, stressing that outbreaks in countries can still be controlled.

It can take several weeks to fully recover from illness caused by novel coronavirus, executive director of Health Emergencies Programme at the World Health Organization Dr. Mike Ryan said.

Ryan added that recovery is often measured by the patient no longer exhibiting symptoms and having two consecutive negative tests for the virus at least one day apart, but some countries may measure "recovery" differently.

Health authorities in China reported 40 new cases of coronavirus to the end of the Sunday, down from the previous day's tally of 44. That took the total for mainland China to 80,965. The National Health Commission reported 22 deaths, to bring the total fatalities to 3,119. (QNA)