We have to respect the coronavirus – and learn as the disease evolves

At the end of February, the WHO’s assistant director general Bruce Aylward set out to learn more about China’s response to the covid-19 outbreak. He tells New Scientist what he thinks the rest of the world can learn from China’s approach

By Jessica Hamzelou

Xing Guangli/Xinhua News Agency/PA Images

Epidemiologist Bruce Aylward is assistant director general of the World Health Organization and spoke to New Scientist on 13 March. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

New Scientist: Cases in China are declining – we are now only seeing a handful of new reported cases every day. Does China have the virus under control?

Bruce Aylward: They have absolutely turned it around. The trends are very real, there’s no question. Governors, mayors and others that I talked to in China would never …