"There is indeed no need for a panic," he told a news conference in Rome, adding that the mortality rate is about 2% and now 1% in China, which has 96.5% of global cases.
"Bear in mind that four out of five patients have mild symptoms and recover," Kluge said.
He said that disease response cooperation will be scaled up to ensure all regions of Italy are equally prepared following the surge of cases in the north of the country.