Meanwhile, the Tokyo Olympics will go ahead as planned, according to the International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government.

"The International Olympic Committee is working hard to make the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games a success," the IOC said on Wednesday in an email reply to Xinhua News Agency, adding that preparation work is proceeding as scheduled.

Dick Pound, an IOC member, told the Associated Press that there's a three-month window to decide the fate of the Tokyo Games, which are set to open on July 24.

But Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Pound was expressing his personal opinion, which does not reflect the IOC's official view.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suggested at a government task force meeting on Wednesday that other major sporting, cultural and other events be canceled, delayed or scaled down for about two weeks.

He said the next one or two weeks will be crucial in determining whether the outbreak can be halted at an early date, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK.

At a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday, Bruce Aylward, head of the WHO-China Joint Mission on COVID-19, called on countries to learn from China's experience in combating the outbreak. "You have to deal with this with capacity and do it fast," he said.