The World Health Organization(WHO) has reportedly revised its global risk assessment on a new coronavirus to "high" from "moderate."

According to AFP on Monday, the UN agency said in a situation report late Sunday that the risk was "very high in China, high at the regional level and high at the global level."

The WHO explained in a footnote that it had stated "incorrectly" in its previous reports on Thursday, Friday and Saturday that the global level was "moderate." It added that the mistake had been a simple "error in the wording."

The agency last week stopped short of declaring the outbreak of a global emergency. 

Meanwhile, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has left for Beijing for discussions with Chinese officials.