A new study has put the reproductive number of the novel coronavirus -- the average number of people who will contract the virus from one infected person -- at up to 3.6.
According to researchers at the University of Hong Kong, the so-called R naught of the virus is between 2.24 and 3.58, based on their analysis of data in China in mid-January.
The figure is significantly higher than the earlier estimate of 1.4 to 2.5 people by the World Health Organization.
To stop an outbreak, the reproduction number has to be brought below one.
The new virus appears to be more contagious than seasonal flu and on par with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak in 2015.
The study was published late last month in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.■
<Photo: Yonhap News>
