The number of novel coronavirus cases in India has been doubling every three weeks but the epidemic is not growing exponentially in the country and South Asia region, the World Health Organisation said on Friday.

"In South Asia, not just in India, but in Bangladesh and... Pakistan and other countries of South Asia with large dense populations, the disease has not exploded, but there is always the risk of that happening," Dr Mike Ryan, WHO's top emergency expert, told a news conference.