BREAKING: Coronavirus outbreak declared global public health emergency

Thursday 30 January 2020 19:46, UK
The killer coronavirus outbreak, which started in China, has been declared a global public health emergency.

The decision by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to say it is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) comes as the number of people who have died from the virus has reached 170.

So far, all the deaths have occurred in China, where the virus originated in an illegal wildlife market in the city of Wuhan.

Chinese health authorities also said there were 7,736 confirmed cases in the country.

There have also been 82 confirmed infections in 18 countries, including France and the United States, according to the WHO, and in some cases there has been human-to-human transmission.

A PHEIC is officially defined as a formal declaration of "an extraordinary event" that poses a public health risk to other states through the international spread of disease which could potentially require an international response.

It implies a situation that is "serious, sudden, unusual or unexpected", which may call for immediate international action.

Thus, a global health emergency is a call to action and "last resort" measure.

Since 2009, there have been five global health emergencies; the 2009 swine flu pandemic, the 2014 polio declaration, the 2014 outbreak of Ebola in Western Africa, the 2015-16 Zika virus epidemic and the Kivu Ebola epidemic as of July 2019.

Any new subtype of human influenza are automatically declared a global health emergency - such as SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), smallpox and wild type poliomyelitis.

Why has it taken so long for coronavirus to be declared one?

The virus has caused alarm because of its similarity to SARS which killed nearly 650 people across China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003.

But after several talks over the past week to determine the level of global concern, the WHO stopped short of declaring a global health emergency.

Such a declaration could now trigger containment and information-sharing guidelines and may disappoint Beijing, which has expressed confidence in defeating the virus.

"The fear is that they (the WHO) might raise the alarm bells... so people are taking money off the table," said Chris Weston, head of research at Melbourne brokerage Pepperstone.

Declaring coronavirus a global health emergency could also lead to trade and travel restrictions, meaning holidaygoers could have their travel plans affected in some parts of the world.

Is this like SARS?

Unlike SARS, which also originated in China, it is believed the new virus can spread during the incubation period of one to 14 days, possibly before an infected person is showing symptoms.

So far, coronavirus does not appear to be as deadly SARS, but there have been more cases overall.

Where has it spread so far?

The vast majority of more than 8,000 cases so far identified have been in China, mostly in and around Wuhan.

Other countries with confirmed cases include Australia, Cambodia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, the UAE, the US and Vietnam.

The WHO is looking closely at cases of person-to-person transmission outside of Wuhan, which would suggest that the virus has the potential to spread further.

What are authorities doing?

The Chinese government has put Wuhan into virtual quarantine to try and contain the virus from spreading.

A number of foreign governments have advised against non-essential travel to China and have begun flying their citizens out of Wuhan.



https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-outbreak-declared-global-public-health-emergency-11922074

About time too! Since Saturday, my nose don block with cattarh and cough catch me e be like say I go die and na only faith make me no go doctor or call God!

If I don't post anymore, know say I don die!

budaatum:
About time too! Since Saturday, my nose don block with cattarh and cough catch me e be like say I go die and na only faith make me no go doctor or call God!

If I don't post anymore, know say I don die!

you go China?

naijaboy756:
you go China?

That's the thing. No! But my symptoms are definitely Chinese! And all I have for medicine is lemon and honey in hot water.

I just pray this thing doesn't find it's way to Nigeria. I wonder how people for Lagos go cope with the massive overcongession

This is no good news at all.

If that virus should surface in Africa, it will be disastrous. I'm already feeling that it has not been reported in Africa due to lack of active surveillance system.

The worst part of this virus is the fact that there are asymptomatic carriers In that asymptomatic phase, they can share the virus actively.

We really need to buckle up. Ebola was tackled easily because there is no such thing as asymptomatic carriers of Ebola virus.

It's well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knHE1_kY7IQ

Coronavirus declared a global public health emergency