GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) \u2014 The dramatic measures taken by China to rein in the deadly new coronavirus outbreak have prevented significant spread abroad, providing a \u201cwindow of opportunity\u201d to halt transmission, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.<\/p>\n
But the UN health agency’s chief also called for greater solidarity, accusing some governments of wealthy countries of being \u201cwell behind\u201d in sharing data on virus cases.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile 99 per cent of cases are in China, in the rest of the world we only have 176 cases,\u201d Tedros said in a technical briefing to the WHO’s Executive Board in Geneva.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn’t mean that it won’t get worse. But for sure we have a window of opportunity to act… Let’s not miss this window of opportunity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Tedros said the WHO had received complete case report forms for only 38 per cent of the cases outside China.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome high-income countries are well behind in sharing this vital data with WHO. I don’t think it’s because they lack capacity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout better data, it’s very hard for us to assess how the outbreak is evolving, or what impact it could have, and to ensure we are providing the most appropriate recommendations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
More than 20,400 cases of the virus have been confirmed in China since the virus was first detected on December 31.<\/p>\n
The toll in mainland China has soared to 425 and more than 20 countries have now confirmed cases of the virus, which the WHO has declared a global health emergency.<\/p>\n
Tedros said the WHO was sending masks, gloves, respirators, and 18,000 protective isolation gowns to 24 countries, as well as 250,000 test kits to speed up the process of diagnosing carriers of the virus.<\/p>\n
He also reiterated his call for countries not to impose travel and trade restrictions because of the virus.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuch restrictions can have the effect of increasing fear and stigma, with little public health benefit,\u201d he said, adding that 22 countries had so far informed the WHO they were implementing such measures.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere such measures have been implemented, we urge that they are short in duration, proportionate to the public health risks, and are reconsidered regularly as the situation evolves,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) \u2014 The dramatic measures taken by China to rein in the deadly new coronavirus outbreak have prevented significant spread abroad, providing a \u201cwindow of opportunity\u201d to halt transmission, the World Health Organization 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