WHO's Tedros: Coronavirus outbreak can go in any direction based on how we handle it

"We are at a decisive point in the coronavirus epidemic," World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday and added that the outbreak could go in any direction based on how it's being handled.

"Epidemics in Iran, Italy, Republic of Korea demonstrate what this virus is capable of," Tedros noted. "No country should assume it won't get cases, that would be a fatal mistake, quite literally. This disease came unseen and undetected into Iran, the extent of infection may be broader than we think.

Flight to safety

Markets remain risk-averse on Thursday. As of writing, the 10-year US Treasury bond yield was at new all-time lows, erasing 6% on the day, while Wall Street's main indexes were down between 1.8% and 2.35%.