The World Health Organization on Friday increased its coronavirus risk assessment to "very high" as cases outside of China continue to increase. But officials caution the virus can still be contained if the chain of transmission can be broken.

“We are on the highest level of alert or highest level of risk assessment in terms of spread and in terms of impact,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s health emergencies program. He said the designation was not meant to alarm or scare people, but to alert every country to be vigilant.

"This is a reality check for every government on the planet: Wake up. Get ready," he said. "This virus may be on its way and you need to be ready. You have a duty to your citizens, you have a duty to the world to be ready.”

At the same time, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General, noted that most cases can still be traced to known contacts or clusters of cases.

"We do not see evidence as yet that the virus is spreading freely in communities," he said. "As long as that’s the case, we still have a chance of containing this coronavirus, if robust action is taken to detect cases early, isolate and care for patients and trace contacts."

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Meanwhile, more than 20 vaccines are being developed worldwide with results from clinical trials expected in a few weeks, he said.

The coronavirus outbreak has infected more than 83,000 people and killed nearly 3,000 people globally as of Friday morning.

China, though hardest hit, has seen lower numbers of new infections, with 327 additional cases reported Friday, bringing the country's total to 78,824. South Korea has recorded 2,337 cases, the most outside of China.