WHO declares the corona virus outbreak as a global emergency

In a press conference that took place at nearly 3am 31-1 (Vietnam time) in Geneva (Switzerland), the World Health Organization (WHO) announced an outbreak of new strain of corona virus (2019-nCoV) from China. is a "global medical emergency".

The WHO action took place when the number of 2019-nCoV infections causing acute pneumonia increased dramatically to more than 8,200 cases, surpassing the number of SARS (Severe Respiratory Syndrome) cases from 2002-2003. .

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus chaired a press conference at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on the afternoon of January 30 (local time) - (Photo: REUTERS).

As of 23:30 on January 30 (Vietnam time), according to the South China Morning Post , the number of corona virus infections globally reached 8,241, including 8,123 cases and 171 deaths in mainland China.

Meanwhile, the number of countries and territories confirming 2019-nCoV cases has risen to 21, the latest being India and the Philippines.

"In the last few weeks, we have witnessed the state of emergency of an unprecedented pathogen and an unprecedented outbreak. And this pathogen has also been reacted in many ways by many countries in an unprecedented way. precedent " - WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking at the press conference.

"Let me be clear, this statement does not mean that we do not trust China. What we are most concerned about is the possibility of this virus spreading to countries with weaker health systems" - The WHO Director-General said.

A global medical emergency or an international public health emergency (PHEIC) is an official WHO statement issued by the Emergency Committee to issue the International Health Regulations (IHR) about a crisis. Public health has global capabilities.

PHEIC is a concept used only for the most serious outbreaks, requiring the international community to act together.

According to Reuters news agency, through the PHEIC statement, WHO will give advice and suggestions to countries on disease prevention, including preventing or reducing transboundary infections and avoiding commercial activities. Unnecessary travel and trade.

However, Tedros stressed that there is no reason to restrict tourism or trade with China because of the "corona virus".

"WHO does not propose and indeed we object to any restrictions," WHO Director General stated at the press conference.

"Although these numbers [number of infections and deaths] are still quite small . but we must work together now to limit the spread" - Mr. Tedros explained that declaring a state of full emergency bridge as a warning measure.

This is the 6th time that WHO has declared a global medical emergency. It is understandable that the WHO has been cautious about declaring the corona virus outbreak as a global emergency because it has received many criticisms in the past when using the term for the 2009 H1N1 flu.

At that time, WHO was criticized for causing confusion, causing people to rush to buy anti-H1N1 vaccines and later discovered that H1N1 was not as dangerous as the initial assessment.

But in 2014, WHO was criticized for downplaying the danger of the Ebola epidemic, which swept through West African countries, killing more than 11,300 people by the time it was extinguished in 2016.

During two press conferences last week, the WHO declined to declare a public health emergency. WHO believes there is a lack of evidence of human-to-human transmission outside China.

On January 27, the WHO acknowledged the "typing error" in the global risk assessment of the deadly corona virus, correcting the initial "moderate" level to "high" .

In its corrective notice, WHO rated the risk of corona virus as "very high" in China, "high" at the regional level, and "high" at the global level.

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