Governments urged to take action
Credit to Author: Agence France-Presse| Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2020 16:23:25 +0000
WUHAN, China: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday warned all governments to “take action” over the severe acute respiratory syndrome-like virus spreading from China that has killed 170 people and infected around 7,7000 others.
The WHO called an urgent meeting for Thursday over whether the viral epidemic should be declared a global health emergency — a designation that can increase international coordination.
In Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organization “deeply regrets” its reports last week that referred to the global risk of the outbreak as “moderate” instead of “high.”
“I have decided to reconvene the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on the new #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) tomorrow,” Tedros said on Twitter.
Michael Ryan, head of the WHO Health Emergencies Program, told reporters that “the whole world needs to be on alert now. The whole world needs to take action.”
Ryan said declaring an international health emergency could streamline the measures taken, stressing that 194 countries implementing unilateral policies was a “potential recipe for disaster.”
Deadliest day
China reported its biggest single-day jump in 2019-nCoV deaths on Thursday as global fears deepened with more infections confirmed overseas, including three Japanese evacuated from the outbreak’s epicenter.
Governments, companies and people around the world were already escalating efforts to contain the illness, which is believed to have emerged from an animal market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
Many governments have urged their citizens not to visit China, while some have banned entry for travelers from Wuhan.
At least 22 countries have confirmed infections, with India and the Philippines reporting their first case on Thursday.
Airlines began canceling flights servicing China on Wednesday, and more followed suit on Thursday.
Russia said it was closing its far eastern border with China over the outbreak.
Beijing has taken extraordinary steps to arrest the spread of the virus, including effectively quarantining more than 50 million people in Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province.
The government on Thursday reported 38 new deaths in the preceding 24 hours, the highest one-day total since the virus was detected late last year.
All but one of the new deaths were in Hubei.
The number of confirmed new cases also grew steadily to 7,711, the National Health Commission said. Another 81,000 people were under observation for possible infection.
Massive cities like Beijing and Shanghai were also eerily quiet as countless people followed advice to stay indoor or to at least wear masks when venturing out.
Japan and the United States became the first countries to organize airlifts from Wuhan for their citizens. A second US flight is planned in coming days.
Australia and New Zealand were among others organizing similar operations.
Tokyo on Thursday reported that three people who were aboard the first evacuation flight had tested positive for the virus after landing back home.
In one of the most dramatic measures, the tiny Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea announced that no travelers from Asia would be allowed in.