The World Health Organization, WHO, has declared the outbreak of a new coronavirus in China, a global health emergency.
The WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus made the
announcement at a press conference in Geneva.
WHO’s emergency committee on the epidemic had reportedly met
Thursday afternoon and recommended designating the outbreak a Public Health
Emergency of International Concern, PHEIC.
The decision had been “almost unanimous,” Didier Houssin, chair of the emergency committee, said at the press conference.
“The main reason for this declaration is not because of what
is happening in China, but because of what is happening in other countries,”
Tedros said at the press conference.
“Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to
spread to countries with weaker health systems and which are ill-prepared to
deal with it. Let me be clear, this declaration is not a vote of no confidence
in China. On the contrary, WHO continues to have confidence in China’s capacity
to control the outbreak.”
Tedros also outlined recommendations made by the emergency
committee to control the outbreak, including accelerating the development of
vaccines and drugs and combatting the spread of misinformation.
This is the sixth time WHO has used that label, Public
Health Emergency of International Concern, PHEIC. since the designation was
introduced 15 years ago.
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