WHO announces novel coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency
Kathmandu, January 31
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the novel coronavirus outbreak has become a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday after a closed-door meeting of the Emergency Committee, Ghebreyesus said that the WHO disfavors or even opposes imposing travel or trade restrictions on China.
As per the Xinhua News, Ghebreyesus 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," Ghebreyesus was quoted as saying by the Xinhua News.
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 added.
Ghebreyesus also 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.
