Chinese adviser known as ‘SARS hero’ expects Coronavirus pandemic to be over by June

Beijing, Mar 12: The global coronavirus pandemic is likely to be over by June, Zhong Nanshan, the Chinese government's senior medical adviser, said.

Speaking at a press conference, Zhong Nanshan an 83-year-old epidemiologist renowned for helping combat the SARS outbreak in 2003, said that a lot of imported cases into China are asymptomatic patients and the re-infection rates among recovered patients is low.

Zhong has since been appointed to lead the National health Commission's investigation into the coronavirus.

At 84, he remains a popular figure in China, often posting pictures of his own physical fitness and has been a public relations mascot the the Chinese state's efforts in combating the coronavirus outbreak.

Zhong said that the number of people being infected had been declining.

This comes a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) characterised the new coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic.