THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO) said Tuesday that the outbreak of the deadly novel coronavirus, which has spread from China to two dozen countries, does not yet constitute a \u201cpandemic\u201d.
\n\u201cCurrently we are not in a pandemic,\u201d Sylvie Briand, head of WHO\u2019s Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness division, told reporters in Geneva.<\/p>\n
Instead, she said, \u201cwe are at the phase where it is an epidemic with multiple foci.\u201d<\/p>\n
The disease has killed more than 425 people and infected a further 20,000 in China, nearly all of them in central Hubei province \u2014 the epicentre of the outbreak \u2014 and spread to two-dozen countries since it emerged in December.
\nBriand said that while there is rapid spread of transmission in Hubei, outside the province there are mainly \u201cspillover cases\u201d with sporadic clusters of transmission.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn these other places in China, the strategy currently is to stop transmission,\u201d she said, adding that the same was true for affected countries outside of China.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would like to make sure that we don\u2019t have a second Hubei type of scenario,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Authorities in China have taken dramatic measures to halt transmission, while other affected countries have put in place steps to rein in the spread.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Wearing mask \u2018not enough\u2019 \u2013
\n\u201cCountries are implementing early case detection, early isolation and treatment of patients, contact tracing to make sure they identify very early contacts that become symptomatic,\u201d Briand pointed out.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope that based on \u2026 measures in Hubei but also in other places where we have had spillover, we can stop transmission and get rid of this virus,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She acknowledged that halting the spread of the new pneumonia-like virus would be \u201cchallenging\u201d.
\n\u201cI am not saying it is easy, but \u2026 we believe that it can be done,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The respiratory disease spreads through droplets, for instance when people sneeze or cough, or likely through direct contact with infected people or with objects they have touched.<\/p>\n
But Briand said it remained unclear how long the virus could linger on an object, stressing the need for frequent hand-washing to protect against transmission.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo stop transmission of this virus, it is very important that sick people wear masks\u201d to avoid infecting others, she said, adding though the benefits of healthy people wearing masks as a precautionary measure were less clear.<\/p>\n
People wearing masks but not taking other precautions like frequently washing their hands could have a \u201cfalse sense of security\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMasks alone are not enough. It is a package of measures that you have to put in place,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf people use the entire package, it is fine. If they just use masks, I think it is not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO) said Tuesday that the outbreak of the deadly novel coronavirus, which has spread from China to two dozen countries, does not yet constitute a \u201cpandemic\u201d. \u201cCurrently we are not in a pandemic,\u201d Sylvie Briand, head of WHO\u2019s Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness division, told reporters in Geneva. Instead, she said, \u201cwe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":12971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[1185,728],"class_list":["post-20915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-china-nigeria-relations","tag-who"],"yoast_head":"\n