Coronavirus: WHO Declares Global Health Emergency, Toll At 213

Some 60 million people in Hubei province are living under virtual lockdown.

There had been a further 1,220 cases detected in Hubei by end of Jan. 30, taking the total for the province to close to 6,000, Hubei’s health commission said.

Tedros praised China’s response in a news conference in Geneva on Thursday evening but said the WHO was declaring a global health emergency because it was concerned about the virus spreading to countries that did not have the resources to deal with it.

“The main reason for this declaration is not because of what is happening in China but because of what is happening in other countries. Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems,” he said.

The WHO move will trigger tighter containment and information-sharing guidelines to all countries, but may disappoint Beijing, which had expressed confidence it can beat the “devil” virus.

China’s U.N. ambassador, Zhang Jun, said Beijing was assessing the declaration.

“We are still at a very critical stage in fighting the coronavirus. International solidarity is extremely important and for that purpose all countries should behave in a … responsible manner,” Zhang said.