1 February
THE UN health agency on Thursday declared an international emergency over the deadly novel coronavirus from China – a rarely used designation that could lead to improved international co-ordination in tackling the disease.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday that the novel coronavirus outbreak has become a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
"Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems," World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros said as he declared a "public health emergency of international concern".
"This is not a vote of no confidence in China," he said, emphasizing repeatedly that the measure was intended to help other countries less able to cope and praising the Chinese government for taking swift action to tackle the outbreak.
"We must all act together now to limit further spread.... We can only stop it together," said Tedros, who travelled to China this week and met with President Xi Jinping.
Tedros noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping personally commands and deploys the prevention and containment efforts.
"The speed with which China detected the outbreak, isolated the virus, sequenced the genome and shared it with WHO and the world are very impressive, and beyond words. So is China's commitment to transparency and to supporting other countries," he said.
"In many ways, China is actually setting a new standard for outbreak response," he added.
That reflects not only China's high sense of responsibility for the lives and health of its own people, but also its strong support for global disease prevention and control, he said.
Tedros said he believes that China will effectively contain and eventually defeat the epidemic, adding that China's efforts to combat the disease deserve respect and appreciation, and are worth learning.
In fact, many of the prevention and containment measures China has taken far exceed relevant requirements for dealing with emergencies, and the measures China has taken are good not only for that country but also for the rest of the world.
Now the situation is still developing and more research is needed, and particularly countries with fragile health systems should enhance their responses, said the WHO chief.
That is the main reason behind the PHEIC declaration, he said, adding that considering global health security, it is also a necessary step to achieve a scientific, rational and calm response based on evidence, and to help other countries take scientific, reasonable and appropriate measures to prevent the epidemic.
Tedros also said there was "no reason" for any of the international travel or trade restrictions announced in recent days, such as flight suspensions, border closures and quarantine for apparently healthy travellers.
Top airlines including Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa have suspended or cut back services to China.
The WHO's Emergency Committee, an advisory body of international experts, said in a statement that evidence had shown that restricting movement of people and goods during public health emergencies "may be ineffective and may divert resources from other interventions".
"Further, restrictions may interrupt needed aid and technical support, may disrupt businesses, and may have negative effects on the economies of countries affected by the emergencies," the committee said.
But it added that "in certain specific circumstances, measures that restrict the movement of people may prove temporarily useful" - a possible reference to lockdowns within China that have affected millions of people.
WHO stopped short of declaring an emergency last week because its emergency committee was divided over the issue.
More than 8,200 people have been infected with the virus – almost all of them in China – and 171 have died.
The WHO said there have also been 82 confirmed cases in 18 other countries, including cases of onward transmission in Germany, Japan, the United States and Vietnam.
The WHO has called a public health emergency of international concern only five times since the relevant legislation took effect in 2007 - for swine flu, polio, Zika and twice for Ebola outbreaks in Africa.
The designation, which is reviewed every three months, allows the WHO to issue global recommendations that the international community is expected to follow.
Governments, companies and people around the world have already been escalating efforts to contain the illness, which is believed to have emerged from an animal market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
Many countries have urged their citizens not to visit China, while some have banned entry for travellers from Wuhan and Russia said it was closing its far eastern border with China over the outbreak.
Advice to WHO
The Committee welcomed a forthcoming WHO multidisciplinary technical mission to China, including national and local experts.
The mission should review and support efforts to investigate the animal source of the outbreak, the clinical spectrum of the disease and its severity, the extent of human-to-human transmission in the community and in healthcare facilities, and efforts to control the outbreak. This mission will provide information to the international community to aid in understanding the situation and its impact and enable sharing of experience and successful measures.
The Committee wished to re-emphasize the importance of studying the possible source, to rule out hidden transmission and to inform risk management measures.
The Committee also emphasized the need for enhanced surveillance in regions outside Hubei, including pathogen genomic sequencing, to understand whether local cycles of transmission are occurring.
WHO should continue to use its networks of technical experts to assess how best this outbreak can be contained globally.
WHO should provide intensified support for preparation and response, especially in vulnerable countries and regions.
Measures to ensure rapid development and access to potential vaccines, diagnostics, antiviral medicines and other therapeutics for low- and middle-income countries should be developed.
WHO should continue to provide all necessary technical and operational support to respond to this outbreak, including with its extensive networks of partners and collaborating institutions, to implement a comprehensive risk communication strategy, and to allow for the advancement of research and scientific developments in relation to this novel coronavirus.
WHO should continue to explore the advisability of creating an intermediate level of alert between the binary possibilities of PHEIC or no PHEIC, in a way that does not require reopening negotiations on the text of the IHR (2005).
WHO should timely review the situation with transparency and update its evidence-based recommendations.
The Committee does not recommend any travel or trade restriction based on the current information available.
No need for 'unnecessary panic' over virus China is decisively working to control the deadly outbreak of the novel coronavirus, its ambassador in Geneva said Friday, insisting there was no need for countries to impose "excessive measures" like border closures.
"There is no need for unnecessary panic, and no need for excessive measures," Ambassador Chen Xu told reporters in Geneva.
REFERENCES:
AFP, Xinhua, WHO, UN news updates
