UPDATE - WHO declares coronavirus emergency of global concern

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS BY WHO CHIEF, HEAD OF WHO EMERGENCY COMMITTEE; ADDS MORE DETAILS

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) - A World Health Organization’s (WHO) emergency panel on Thursday declared the deadly coronavirus an emergency of international concern.

The announcement was made by WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the UN health agency’s headquarters in Geneva following the meeting of the agency’s Emergency Committee.

“This is an unprecedented outbreak that has been met by an unprecedented response,” Tedros said.

On Wednesday, the WHO chief returned from China, where he met Chinese President Xin Jinping.

He praised China for the way it responded to the outbreak and said the declaration was in no way an indictment on its handling of the outbreak that has claimed 170 lives in China, with around 8,000 cases reported so far.

Tedros noted that 98 cases have been confirmed in 18 countries outside China.

“We are all in this together and we can only stop it together,” the WHO chief said, adding no travel and trade recommendations have been made.

Didier Houssin, the chairman of the WHO Emergency Committee, told reporters despite being split on whether to declare the international emergency last week, the decision on Thursday was “nearly unanimous.”

The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which originated in Wuhan city, is said to have transmitted to humans from animals, particularly bats.

The virus has raised alarm globally with cases reported across Asia, Europe, the U.S., and Canada.

Travelers from China are being screened for the virus at airports worldwide. Several airlines have suspended flights to Wuhan.