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German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a stark warning Wednesday, citing expert estimates that up to 60 to 70 percent of the population could be infected by the coronavirus, Fox News reports. 

Speaking at a news conference in Berlin alongside Jens Spahn, German's health minister, Merkel said there was no known cure and the focus would be on slowing the spread of the virus.

“When the virus is out there, the population has no immunity and no therapy exists, then 60 to 70 percent of the population will be infected,” she said. The population of Germany is about 83 million people.

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

As of Wednesday, Germany had almost 1,300 cases of the virus, according to the Robert Koch Institute for disease control, and three deaths.

Comparatively, Italy has been the worst-hit European nation, with more than 10,000 cases and 631 deaths, according to the Civil Protection Agency.

Worldwide, there are currently 121,061 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 4,369 deaths, according to John Hopkins.