JAKARTA - The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the corona virus outbreak (2019-nCoV / Wuhan Flu) a global health emergency. WHO said there was a potential for the virus to spread to countries that were not ready to handle transmission.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed several times during a press conference in Geneva that the status assignment was not a form of distrust in China to control the outbreak.
The provision of a global emergency is the sixth time by WHO since the UN agency was given the authority to make a global emergency declaration since 2005. One of the outbreaks that was declared a global health emergency was the Ebola virus in 2014.
I am declaring a public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of # 2019nCoV, not because of what is happening in #China, but because of what is happening in other countries.
- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) January 30, 2020
"Our biggest concern is the potential for the spread of the virus to other countries with weaker health systems and who are not prepared to deal with it. Most of the cases outside China have a history of travel to Wuhan or contact with someone with a history of travel to Wuhan. We don't know. what damage could this virus do if it spreads to a country with a weak health system, "said Ghebreyesus, quoted by the South China Morning Post, Friday, January 31.
Along with the declaration of a global health emergency, the WHO also outlines a number of recommendations to all countries in the world when they respond to the spread and transmission of the virus.
WHO also provides advice on accelerating vaccine development, reviewing outbreak preparedness plans, combating the spread of misinformation and sharing data with the United Nations. In addition, WHO also warned that drastic restrictions on travel and trade were unnecessary.
They oppose the move to close the border area with China or restrict access to Chinese tourists. Although they did not mention Russia, their remarks came after the country led by Vladimir Putin announced it would close the Russia-China border and suspend visas for visitors from China.
"Some countries have taken steps regarding (Chinese) tourists. Such steps should not have been taken," said Didier Houssin, chairman of the WHO emergency committee.
In a statement issued after the WHO declaration, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said the Chinese government would continue to cooperate with WHO and other countries to safeguard global and regional public health security.
"We truly have the confidence and capability to win the fight against this epidemic," said Hua Chunying.
The WHO's global emergency declaration was issued amid growing criticism of the health agency's decision last week. On Friday, January 24, WHO stated that it had not issued a global emergency status because it was still collecting a lot of data and considered that even though the number of cases was high, it still only occurred in China.
Today, Friday, January 31, there were 9,776 cases of corona in 23 countries around the world, with the death toll reaching 213 people. This data was obtained from John Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States, which developed a portal for the latest monitoring of the spread of the corona virus. In this portal, the public can see a map of the spread of the corona virus in real time.
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