Wuhan placed under lockdown as “coronavirus” outbreak kills 17 in China

The World
Health Organization (WHO) is holding a meeting today where it could decide
whether the spread of the Wuhan virus constitutes “a public health
emergency of international concern.”

The WHO held
a similar meeting yesterday but delayed its decision, due to lack of
information.

“The
decision about whether or not to declare a public health emergency of
international concern is one I take extremely seriously, and one I am only
prepared to make with appropriate consideration of all the evidence,” WHO
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told sources.

“Today,
there was an excellent discussion during committee meeting but it was also
clear that to proceed, we need more information,” he said.

The WHO
defines a public health emergency of international concern as “an
extraordinary event” that constitutes a “public health risk to other
States through the international spread of disease” and “to
potentially require a coordinated international response.” Previous
emergencies have included Ebola, Zika and H1N1.