The deadly virus -- 2019-nCoV -- that traces its origin in the local seafood market of Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei province in central China - has killed 811 people, surpassing the death toll from the SARS epidemic of 2002-3.
Meanwhile, experts explained that direct transmission refers to the infection caused by inhalation of air close to a patient who sneezes and coughs, while contact transmission occurs when a person touches an object tainted with droplets containing the virus before infecting himself through subsequent contact with the membranes of his mouth, nose, and eyes.
Also Read | Coronavirus: Death Toll In China's Hubei Rises To 780; More Than 34,800 People Infected Globally
The Chinese government has urged residents to avoid gatherings, open windows to help with ventilation, practice good personal hygiene and regularly disinfect their homes, especially areas like door handles, dinner tables and toilet seats.
A study published in the Journal of Medical Virology has noted that the patients who became infected with the virus were exposed to wild animals at a wholesale market, where seafood, poultry, snakes, bats, and farm animals were sold.
The latest figures from the Chinese health officials show that 2,649 people have recovered and have been discharged from the hospital.
However, according to media reports, around 33,738 are currently being treated for pneumonia caused by the new virus. Many countries have also restricted their citizens from travelling to mainland China and also set up health camps at airports to screen passengers arriving from the East Asian country in the wake of the pneumonia outbreak.
(With inputs from agencies)