The “whole world needs to be on alert” to fight the coronavirus, the head of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Programme has said.
\nDr Mike Ryan praised China’s response to the deadly outbreak, saying: “The challenge is great but the response has been massive.”
\nThe WHO will meet on Thursday to discuss whether the virus constitutes a global health emergency.
\nThe Chinese city of Wuhan is the epicentre of the outbreak.
\nBut the virus has spread across China and to at least 16 countries globally, including Thailand, France, the US and Australia.
\nMore than 130 people have died in China and close to 6,000 have been infected.
\nThere is no specific cure or vaccine. A number of people have recovered after treatment, however.
\nThe WHO’s Dr Ryan said an international team of experts was being assembled to go to China and work with experts there to learn more about how the disease is transmitted.
\n“We are at an important juncture in this event. We believe these chains of transmission can still be interrupted,” he said.
\nScientists in Australia have managed to recreate the new coronavirus outside of China\u00a0, raising hope that it could be used to develop an early-diagnosis test.
\nWHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who visited China this week, said most people who contracted the virus were suffering only “milder symptoms”, but about 20% had severe effects such as pneumonia and respiratory failure.
\nHe said that China “needs the world’s solidarity and support,” and that “the world is pulling together to end the outbreak, building on lessons learned from past outbreaks.”
\nThe director-general added that the WHO “deeply regrets” referring to the worldwide risk from the virus as “moderate” in three reports last week instead of “high”.
\nHe described the person-to-person spread of the illness in Germany, Vietnam and Japan as worrying, and said experts would consider it on Thursday when deciding whether to declare a global emergency.
\nWhat’s happening in Wuhan?
\nThe city’s residents are enduring an isolated, frightening time. Most forms of traffic have been banned, and more than 50 million people are shut up in their homes, trying to minimise the spread of the virus.
\nVideos have emerged online of neighbours shouting “Wuhan jiayou!” out of their windows – roughly translated to “Stay strong Wuhan!” or “Keep on going Wuhan”.
\nThe phrase has been trending on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media site, with people from around the country posting supportive messages.
\n“We will get through this. Wuhan jiayou, the whole country is supporting you,” read one comment on Weibo.
\nBy BBC.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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