Novel coronavirus: the challenge of communicating about a virus which one knows little about

Following the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) event in 2002/2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed outbreak communications guidelines. With the emergence in September 2012 of a novel coronavirus, WHO’s public communications response was initiated and planned in light of these guidelines and 5 principles of trust, transparency, announcing early, listening and planning. This review describes WHO’s communication response to the novel coronavirus event and its efforts to provide early, accurate information via various media to keep the public appraised of the situation, and its commitment to continued communication on an ongoing basis.