The novel coronavirus has killed more than 1,700 people in China (File)
The novel coronavirus that has killed more than 1,700 people in China is "preventable and treatable", an official from the country's National Health Commission said on Monday.
Guo Yanhong, a hospital administration supervisor at the commission, made the remarks at a daily press conference, in which she also said the percentage of infected patients in virus epicentre Wuhan who are critically ill had dropped to 18 per cent now from 38 per cent at the beginning of the outbreak