The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a public-health emergency of international concern. Deutsche Welle reports.
The decision was made after the first confirmed case of transmission of the virus from person to person outside the PRC. More stringent measures will be taken to combat the epidemic from now on.
Previously, coronavirus cases were registered mainly among the people who left the epidemic epicenter in the Chinese Hubei province. Declaring the global health emergency means calling on all countries to coordinate measures to combat the virus under the auspices of WHO. Specific measures to contain the spread of the virus are also provided.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the number of people infected with the coronavirus outside the PRC was still relatively small, but it is impossible to predict what damage coronavirus can do to countries with poorly developed healthcare systems.
According to latest data, the number of coronavirus cases worldwide has already exceeded 8,100 people. This is more than the number of SARS cases 17 years ago. At least 89 confirmed cases of the virus have been registered outside of PRC.
