WHO declares coronavirus a global emergency, joining two other outbreaks on the list
The World Health Organization has declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a “global health emergency.”
The announcement on Jan. 30 reverses an earlier decision by the organization to hold off on declaring the outbreak an emergency, according to a statement by WHO.
The WHO officially called the virus, which originated in Wuhan and has infected more than 8,000 people in China, a “public health emergency of international concern.”
The declaration allows the WHO to increase the response by global governments and organizations, according to The Hill. It encourages people in impacted countries to follow hygiene and health guidelines and nations to try to contain the spread of the virus.
A global health emergency declaration means the WHO can put travel advisories for countries, cities, and regions, The Hill reported. WHO can also review health measures that countries carry out to make sure they meet health standards.
Chinese officials said that coronavirus has infected more than 8,000 people and killed 171, according to The Washington Post. China also said there were more than 1,900 new cases on the same day.
The first person-to-person transmitted case of coronavirus in the U.S. was confirmed on Jan. 30, bringing the number of cases in the country to six, according to NBC.
South Korea, Australia, and Vietnam also confirmed coronavirus infections, bringing the number of countries impacted to 20, according to The Washington Post.
Other public health emergencies
There are currently two other outbreaks that the WHO has declared as “public health emergencies of international concern.”
Ebola, which has ravaged the Democratic Republic of Congo and infected more than 3,300 people since August 2018, was declared a global health emergency in July 2019, according to Quartz.
The WHO said this outbreak is “larger in case numbers and longer in duration” than the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, according to a statement.
After health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo were attacked in December 2019, the number of Ebola cases saw an uptick, NPR reported.
Polio was declared a global health emergency in May 2014 after the disease spread from Pakistan, Cameroon and Syria, according to Quartz.
Cases of polio increased in 2019 and reached 113 by December, according a statement by the WHO. Chad, Ivory Coast, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Togo and Zambia also reported new cases of the disease.
The spread of the virus has been partially due to the Taliban blocking WHO vaccination workers in Afghanistan, according to Quartz. Cases of the vaccine-derived disease also appeared in the Philippines and China.
This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 2:25 PM with the headline "WHO declares coronavirus a global emergency, joining two other outbreaks on the list."