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 announced at a press conference in Geneva.
WHO’s emergency committee on the epidemic 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 the emergency committee’s recommendations for controlling the outbreak, including accelerating the development of vaccines and drugs and combatting the spread of misinformation.
