Coronavirus Spread Now a Global Emergency Declares World Health Organization

Passengers wear face masks while riding the subway in Shenzhen, China. Credit: UN News/Jing Zhang.By External SourceUNITED NATIONS, Jan 31 2020 (IPS) The rise in new coronavirus cases outside China, now constitutes a global health emergency, the World Health Organization’s Emergency Committee declared on Thursday, calling on all countries to take urgent measures to contain the respiratory disease. Latest WHO figures state there are more than 7,800 confirmed cases globally, with 7,736 confirmed in China, and a further 12,167 suspected cases inside the country where the outbreak began in Wuhan, a city of around 11 million which remains in lockdown.   Latest figures So far, 170 people have died in China, and 1,370 cases there are officially described as severe. A total of 124 have recovered and been discharged from hospital. Outside China, there are 82 confirmed cases, in 18 different countries, and only seven had no history of travel in China. “There has been human-to-human transmission in three countries outside China”, according to a statement released by WHO’s Emergency Committee. “One of these cases is severe and there have been no deaths.” “The Committee believes that it is still possible to interrupt virus spread, provided that countries put in place strong measures to detect disease early, isolate and treat cases, trace contacts, and promote social distancing measures commensurate with the risk.” When the committee met last week, there were “d...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Global Headlines Health TerraViva United Nations Coronavirus Source Type: news