Davos - President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States has a plan in place to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said:

"We do have a plan and we think it is going to be handled very well. We've already handled it very well. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) is terrific. Very professional..."

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Video by: Vuyolwethu Fundam, Belt and Road Initiative, BRI+

The death toll from a new flu-like coronavirus in China rose to nine on Wednesday with 440 confirmed cases, Chinese health officials said as authorities stepped up efforts to control the outbreak.

Another 2 197 people who came into contact with infected people were isolated, with 765 so far released from observation, National Health Commission vice-minister Li Bin told reporters, adding that there was already evidence that the virus was being spread through "respiratory transmission".

"Recently there has been a big change in the number of cases, which is related to our deepening our understanding of the disease, improving diagnostic methods and optimising the distribution of diagnostic kits," Li said.

As China vowed to tighten containment measures in hospitals, the World Health Organization (WHO) was due to hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday to determine whether the outbreak of the new coronavirus constitutes a global health emergency.

The virus, originating in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei at the end of last year, has spread to Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Macau, as well as the United States, Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

Reuters

Alexandra Alper

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WATCH: Donald Trump says US has plan to contain deadly coronavirus