"I sincerely thank all the Chinese scientists and health workers who have been working around the clock, for their commitment to keeping China and the world safe," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said in a tweet on Sunday.

Screenshot: Twitter

He said this after China sent the organization on Sunday the genetic sequences of a new type of coronavirus detected in the viral pneumonia cases reported in Central China's Wuhan city to safeguard global health.

Wuhan on January 5 reported 59 viral pneumonia cases. A tentative diagnoses showed 41 of the cases were caused by the new coronavirus. 

The virus has left one patient dead and seven others in critical condition.