Of the 80,000 confirmed coronavirus cases reported in China, "more than 70% have recovered and been discharged," according to the World Health Organization (WHO) in a news conference on Monday.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressed the outbreak in his opening remarks, saying it's important to remember "of all the cases reported globally so far, 93% are from just four countries."

The director-general emphasized that the situation can still be controlled.

"The bottom line is," Tedros said, "we are not at the mercy of this virus."