World Health Organization declares public health emergency of international concern over coronavirus

The World Health Organization has declared a public health emergency over the coronavirus.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus just made, in-part, the following statement.

“We don’t know what sort of damage this virus could do if it were to spread in a country with a weaker health system.”

“We must act now to help countries prepare for that possibility.”

“For all of these reasons, I am declaring a public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of novel coronavirus.”-DrTedros

In total, there are now 7834 confirmed cases, including 7736 in China, representing almost 99% of all reported cases worldwide. 170 people have lost their lives to this outbreak, all of them in China.

Just yesterday, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, met President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing to discuss the outbreak.

“Stopping the spread of this virus both in China and globally is WHO’s highest priority,” said Dr Tedros. “We appreciate the seriousness with which China is taking this outbreak, especially the commitment from top leadership, and the transparency they have demonstrated, including sharing data and genetic sequence of the virus. WHO is working closely with the government on measures to understand the virus and limit transmission. WHO will keep working side-by-side with China and all other countries to protect health and keep people safe.”

Also, today, the first U.S. case of person-to-person transmission was confirmed concerning a Chicago couple.