Geneva, (thestates.news) The World Health Organization (WHO) said that it was ‘too early’ to
declare the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China a public health
emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
“I am not declaring a public health emergency of international concern
today. As it was yesterday, the Emergency Committee was divided over whether
the outbreak of novel coronavirus represents a PHEIC or not,” said WHO
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus after a closed-door meeting of the
Emergency Committee on Thursday.
“Make no mistake, though, this is an emergency in China. But it has not
yet become a global health emergency. It may yet become one,” Tedros said,
adding that WHO’s risk assessment is that the outbreak is a very high risk in
China, and a high risk regionally and globally, Xinhua reported.
‘I wish to reiterate that the fact I am not declaring a PHEIC today should not
be taken as a sign that WHO does not think the situation is serious, or that we
are not taking it seriously,” the WHO chief said.
Earlier, the UN health agency had extended its Emergency Committee discussions
on whether to declare a PHEIC from Wednesday to Thursday.
The PHEIC is defined by the WHO as an extraordinary event that is determined to
constitute a public health risk to other states through the international
spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international
response.
Tedros said that 584 cases have now been reported to WHO, including 17 deaths.
A total of 575 of those cases and all of the deaths have been reported in
China, with other cases reported in Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore,
Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.
All countries should have in place measures to detect cases of coronavirus, including
at health facilities, Tedros said.uni
‘Too early’ to declare coronavirus outbreak in China a global emergency: WHO
