The World Health Organization (WHO) has formally declared that the Wuhan Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is now a global health emergency as the virus continues to spread outside China, its country of origin.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the announcement follows the ongoing trend of new reports of the virus that continues to emerge in other countries as days pass by.
“The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries,” said Dr. Ghebreyesus as per a report from BBC.
Another concern is that the 2019-nCoV might spread to countries with poorer and inadequate health systems in place, as the death toll stands at around 170 in China.
The BBC report furthers that eight known cases of human-to-human transmissions have likewise been reported in Germany, Japan, Vietnam, as well as the United States.
The WHO Chief described the 2019-nCoV as an “unprecedented outbreak” but assured the public that all government agencies around the world continues to face the oubreak with an “unprecedented response”.
Dr. Ghebreyesus also commended China’s ongoing efforts and “extraordinary measures” that the 2019-nCoV’s country of origin is doing at present not just to take care of its ailing residents, but more importantly, the steps that they’re doing to keep the virus from spreading.
