The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an “international public health emergency” for the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV), detected in Wuhan China in December 2019.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the emergency during a news conference after a meeting of the Emergency Committee on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Geneva, Switzerland yesterday. Ghebreyesus stated that the greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems, “China is to be congratulated for the extraordinary measures it has taken to contain the outbreak despite the severe social and economic impact that is is having on China” added. The states are urged to make efforts to prevent cross-border spread of the disease.
Global public health emergency was declared by WHO 5 times before: H1N1 influenza A in 2009, polio in 2014, zika virus in 2016, Ebola virus in 2014 and 2019.
