The novel coronavirus is 10 times more deadly than swine flu, also called H1N1, which caused a global pandemic in 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday, calling for control measures to be lifted “slowly”.

“We know that COVID-19 spreads fast, and we know that it is deadly, 10 times more deadly than the 2009 flu pandemic,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

It said that a safe and effective vaccine would be needed to fully halt the spread of COVID-19, which has killed more than 114,000 people worldwide.

“Our global connectedness means the risk of re-introduction and resurgence of COVID19 will continue,” Mr. Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing, stressing that “ultimately, the development and delivery of a safe and effective vaccine will be needed to fully interrupt transmission.”