Coronavirus: WHO declares Global Health Emergency
The World Health Organization has declared the novel coronavirus a global health emergency with the outbreak spreading outside China.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “This declaration is majorly in regard to what is happening in other countries due to the virus and not for what is happening in China.”
As the virus has spread to many countries outside China, the major concern is the possibility of the virus to spread to countries having weaker health systems.
Meanwhile, US citizens have been told not to travel to China. Americans were urged to reconsider travel to China after which a level four warning has been issued by the state department and said that China’s citizens should consider using departing using commercial means.
The death toll has increased to 213 deaths as of today with almost 10,000 cases of infections worldwide. The deaths are mostly only in the place where the virus originated, in the Hubei province, China.
There have no deaths reported outside China has there have been 98 cases reported in 18 other countries, said WHO. Most of the international cases are in people who had been to Wuhan, the Chinese city where the
virus emerged.However, in the United States, Vietnam, Japan, and Germany, there have been 8 cases of human-to-human infection.
Dr. Tedros, speaking at a news conference in Geneva described the virus to have an “unprecedented response” from an “unprecedented outbreak”.
The “extraordinary measures” taken by the Chinese authorities are being praised and he said limiting travel or trade to China is not needed.
However, many companies like Tesla, Starbucks, Ikea, Google, have closed their shops or stopped operations and various countries have taken steps to cancel flights or close borders.
The outbreak could accelerate the return of jobs to North America, said Wilbur Ross, the US Commerce Secretary.
What are the consequences if this virus enters a country that cannot cope?
The tools required to spot or contain the infection is lacking in many low and middle-income countries. The fear is that it may go unnoticed for some time and could uncontrollably spread.
Not to forget that there are already almost 10,000 confirmed cases in China with the disease emerging only last month.
The largest outbreak in human history, the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa shows how easily such outbreaks can destroy poorer countries. And it would be nearly incredibly difficult to contain it if the novel coronavirus gets a significant foothold in such places.
Luckily, we are not yet at the stage and WHO is convinced that China can control the outbreak there as almost 99% of cases are only in China.
WHO can support and prepare the lower- and middle-income countries to strengthen their disease surveillance by declaring this outbreak a global health emergency.
When have we had such a declaration?
When there is an extraordinary event that constitutes a public health risk to other states and countries through the international spread of the disease, the WHO declares a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
Previously, there have been five global public health emergencies:
- Swine flu, 2009 –The H1N1 virus killed more than 200,000 people spreading across the world.
- Polio, 2014 – Polio numbers rose in 2013, although it was closer than ever to its eradication in 2012.
- Zika, 2016 – After the disease spread rapidly through the Americas, the WHO declared Zika a public health emergency.
- Ebola, 2014 and 2019 – Almost 30,000 people were infected and more than 11,000 died in West Africa due to the virus, the first emergency lasted from August 2014 to March 2016. As an outbreak spread in DR Congo, a second emergency was declared in 2019.
Managing the Outbreak in China:
The virus has reached every region in mainland China as Tibet also confirmed a case of the infection. Around 9,692 cases have tested positive according to the country’s National Health Commission.
Wuhan is the heart of the outbreak and is home to 11 million people and is now in a state of lockdown.
To curb the spread of the virus, China has put numerous transport restrictions and the city has been effectively sealed off.
With a growing number of countries advising their citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to China, the country’s economy, the world’s second-largest is being affected by the virus.
What is the response from the rest of the countries?
From Wuhan, hundreds of foreign nationals’ voluntary evacuations have started and are in process.
To avoid contagion, the countries New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, and the UK, are expected to quarantine all evacuees for two weeks to monitor them for symptoms.
In a detention center that has been used to house asylum seekers on Christmas Island, 2,000km (1,200 miles) from the mainland, Australia plans to quarantine its evacuees.
Other recent developments:
- After two Chinese tourists in Rome were diagnosed with the virus, Italy suspended flights to China; Around 6,000 people onboard a cruise ship were barred from disembarking temporarily.
- The first US case of human-to-human transmission was reported by the Chicago health officials in the US. For at least 72 hours, around 200 US citizens are being isolated at a Californian military base after been flown out of Wuhan.
- Russia has decided to close its far-eastern border, the 4,300km (2,670-mile) border with China.
- Japan has now raised its infectious disease advisory level for China and two flights to Japan have already landed in Tokyo.
- From Wuhan, around 250 French nationals have been evacuated by France.
- In India, a student in the southern state of Kerala who was studying in Wuhan has confirmed case of the virus, the first case in the country.
- All flight connections with China from Israel has been barred.
- All visitors from “Asian ports” have been banned by Papua New Guinea.
- The British ambassador to North Korea said that all the trains and flights to and from China will be suspended.
Coronavirus: WHO declares Global Emergency Source
