“When the virus is out there, the population has no immunity and no therapy exists, then 60 to 70% of the population will be infected,” she told a news conference in Berlin, Reuters reported.

“The process has to be focused on not overburdening the health system by slowing the virus’s spread … It’s about winning time.”

Merkel spoke after mass-selling daily Bild lambasted her for her handling of what it called ‘the corona chaos’: “No appearances, no speech, no leadership in the crisis,” it wrote.

Health Minister Jens Spahn has led the response, and said earlier that sealing Germany’s borders to prevent the virus spreading would not work, rejecting calls to follow neighbor Austria in denying entry to visitors from Italy.

Germany has reported 1,296 cases of the virus, and two deaths, the Robert Koch Institute said late on Tuesday.

The crisis has thrown into the spotlight Germany’s federal system of government, in which power is devolved to the 16 states and regional authorities to decide whether to take up Spahn’s advice to cancel events with over 1,000 participants.

European nations on Wednesday shut schools and universities and slapped more restrictions on travel, sport and cultural events over the surging coronavirus outbreak, as more countries announced deaths from the epidemic.

Italy remains at the center of Europe’s outbreak as another jump in cases on Tuesday took the total to more than 10,000 infections and deaths rose by a third to 631.

Millions of Italians woke to deserted streets and shuttered shops after officials imposed a national lockdown, while the government has pledged 25 billion euros ($28 billion) to fight the virus.

Countries including Poland and Ukraine announced school closures despite no significant outbreaks being reported.

Austria, which has already reintroduced border controls with Italy, said it was shutting museums and halting train services to its southern neighbor.

China, still the worst-affected country with more than 80,000 cases and over 3,000 deaths, offered hope to the rest of the world by again announcing negligible new daily infections and only a relatively small number of deaths.

Some businesses in China’s central Hubei province – where the virus was first detected in December – were told they could resume operations, reducing fears of a prolonged disruption of supply chains.

Belgium and Panama are the most recent countries to announce their first confirmed deaths from the virus, while Spain announced that the number of cases has topped 2,000 with 47 deaths.

Italy’s lockdown, unprecedented in Western Europe, stops people from moving around or leaving the country unless they have a valid medical, family or work reason.

Foreigners are still allowed to leave – many already have – and the last stragglers were racing to catch flights after a slew of cancelations.

Despite the improving situation in China, officials imposed new measures, decreeing that all international arrivals in Beijing must undergo two weeks of quarantine.

China’s new worry is that the coronavirus could re-enter from abroad. Beijing’s city government announced that all overseas visitors will be quarantined for 14 days. Of 24 new cases that China reported Wednesday, five arrived from Italy and one from the United States, according to AP.

For most, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for a few, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illnesses, including pneumonia. More than 119,000 people have been infected worldwide and over 4,200 have died.

But the vast majority of people recover. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.

In the United States, some governors and other leaders are scrambling to slow its spread, banning large public gatherings, enforcing quarantines and calling National Guard troops.

With new deaths reported and the number of confirmed US cases exceeding 1,000, lawmakers and health officials set up containment zones and quarantine areas and sought to limit contact with those who might be infected.

In Washington State, the governor was expected to ban gatherings of more than 250 people in virtually the entire Seattle metro area, home to some 4 million people. Schools and houses of worship were shuttered in a New York City suburb where a cluster of cases could be the largest in the nation, and the governor sent National Guard troops to help clean public spaces and deliver food.

The moves came as the battle to stop the virus from spreading intensified. More schools and universities, including UCLA, Yale, and Stanford, have announced plans to send students home and move classes online.

The virus has infected more than 1,000 people in the US and killed at least 30, with one state after another recording its first infections in quick succession.