Coronavirus is a deadly test: did the world learn the lessons of Sars? | Jennifer Rohn

Preparedness is everything - so it's chilling to realise that investment in it is actually being cut

Merely a month after a mysterious respiratory illness arose in Wuhan, China, the world is already in the grip of a global outbreak. Now designated a "public health emergency of international concern" by the World Health Organization, and probably not far off earning the more sinister name "pandemic", the 2019-nCov coronavirus outbreak has already surpassed its cousin Sars in terms of the number of cases confirmed. Although it has a lower fatality rate than Sars, it's too early to tell whether 2019-nCov will be remembered as something much more frightening.

Related: WHO declares coronavirus a global health emergency