Global screening efforts to prevent the rapid spread of coronavirus are likely to fail, according to new research warning that even best-case screenings of air travelers will miss more than half of infected people.

The novel coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 people worldwide since its emergence in central China last month.

Traveler screening using temperature monitors and questionnaires is a key response measure, yet the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday said for the first time the number of new cases outside mainland China exceeded those within it.