The new coronavirus has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization, as the outbreak continues to spread outside China.
“The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The concern is that it could spread to countries with weaker health systems.
Meanwhile, the US has told its citizens not to travel to China.
The State Department issued a level four warning – having previously urged Americans to “reconsider” travel to China – and said any citizens in China “should consider departing using commercial means”.
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At least 213 people have died in China – mostly in Hubei province where the virus emerged – with almost 10,000 cases nationally.
The WHO said there had been 98 cases in 18 other countries, but no deaths.
Most international cases are in people who had been to the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei.
The UN health agency on Thursday declared an international emergency over the deadly coronavirus from China — a rarely used designation that could lead to improved international co-ordination in tackling the disease.
“Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems. This is not a vote of no confidence in China,” World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a briefing in Geneva.
WHO announced the decision after a meeting of its Emergency Committee, an independent panel of experts, amid mounting evidence of the virus spread to some 18 countries.
The UN health agency on Thursday said there was “no reason” to restrict travel or trade with China over the deadly coronavirus outbreak after several airlines announced they were suspending flights.
How unusual is this declaration?
The WHO declares a Public Health Emergency of International Concern when there is “an extraordinary event which is determined… to constitute a public health risk to other states through the international spread of disease”.
It has previously declared five global public health emergencies:
Swine flu, 2009 –The H1N1 virus spread across the world in 2009, killing more than 200,000 people
Polio, 2014 – Although closer than ever to eradication in 2012, polio numbers rose in 2013
Zika, 2016 – The WHO declared Zika a public health emergency in 2016 after the disease spread rapidly through the Americas
Ebola, 2014 and 2019 – The first emergency over the virus lasted from August 2014 to March 2016 as almost 30,000 people were infected and more than 11,000 died in West Africa. A second emergency was declared last year as an outbreak spread in DR Congo.
How is China handling the outbreak?
A confirmed case in Tibet means the virus has reached every region in mainland China. According to the country’s National Health Commission, 9,692 cases have tested positive.
The central province of Hubei, where nearly all deaths have occurred, is in a state of lockdown. The province of 60 million people is home to Wuhan, the heart of the outbreak.
The city has effectively been sealed off and China has put numerous transport restrictions in place to curb the spread of the virus.
