The coronavirus outbreak that has infected roughly 110,000 people across more than 100 countries is close to being declared a pandemic, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

"Now that the coronavirus has a foothold in so many countries, the threat of a pandemic has become very real," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general, said at a press conference on Monday.

But Tedros said it would be the first pandemic that could be controlled.

Photos: The Coronavirus Hits the U.S. View All 14 Images

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

While there is no clear threshold for declaring a pandemic , it is considered to mean the worldwide spread of a new disease.

"We're reaching that point, and when you reach 100 countries, and when you reach 100,000 cases, it is time to step back and think," said Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's health emergencies program.

Ryan said that, unlike the flu, countries can control the outbreak. He pointed to slowing cases in China as evidence of that. Still, officials said there are concerns about how people will react to the term "pandemic."

"The word for us is not a problem," Ryan said. "The issue is what the reaction to the word will be. Will the reaction to the word be, 'Let's fight? Let's push? Let's push this disease back?' Or will the reaction to the word be, 'Let's give up.'"

Meanwhile, cases in the U.S. continued to climb, with more than 140 confirmed Monday in New York alone. Officials are reporting over 500 cases in the U.S. and 22 deaths from the disease, COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday warned Americans to expect more cases.

"As the trajectory of the outbreak continues, many people in the U.S. will at some point in time, either this year or next, be exposed to this virus, and there's a good chance many will become sick," Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters on Monday.