In his opening remarks at a mission briefing on Wednesday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), called on all countries to make containment of COVID-19 the top priority.

In the 24 hours leading to his remarks, China reported 120 more cases of COVID-19. Outside of China, 2,075 cases were reported in 35 countries, according to Tedros.

He stressed that the novel coronavirus has serious impact on public health, the economy and social and political issues. Countries should be preparing for sustained community transmission, he added.

The report of the WHO-China Joint Mission has been published, Tedros said, and "it calls for all countries to educate their populations, to expand surveillance, to find, isolate and care for every case, to trace every contact, and to take an all-of-government and all-of-society approach."

He said that the WHO will continue to provide evidence-based guidance to help countries and individuals in assessing and managing their risks. "There is no one-size-fits-all approach," he added.