February 10, 2020 – In Breaking News – CNBC
World Health Organization officials are concerned about new coronavirus cases confirmed in France and the U.K. that were transmitted without any travel history to China.
Five British citizens contracted the virus in the French Alpine town of Contamines-Montjoie, health authorities said Sunday.
On Monday, the U.K. said it confirmed new cases linked to a British man who went a conference in Singapore.
“The detection of this small number of cases could be the spark that becomes a bigger fire, but for now it’s only a spark,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters Monday at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva.
“Our objective remains containment,” he said.
“We call on all countries to use the window of opportunity we have to prevent a bigger fire.”
(World Health Organization officials hold a news conference Monday to update the public on the new coronavirus outbreak. As of Friday, more than 40,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported in over two dozen countries, resulting in at least 910 deaths almost exclusively in China. The WHO declared the virus a global health emergency last month, a rare designation that helps the international agency mobilize financial and political support to contain the outbreak. Courtesy of CNBC Television and YouTube. Posted on Feb 10, 2019.)
World health officials said the respiratory disease, which has sicked more than 40,000 people worldwide and killed at least 910, mostly in China, is capable of spreading through human-to-human contact, droplets carried through sneezing and coughing, and germs left on inanimate objects.
Symptoms can include a sore throat, runny nose, fever or pneumonia and can progress to multiple organ failure or death in some severe cases, they said.
The coronavirus pneumonia produces mild cold symptoms in about 80% of patients, Dr. Sylvie Briand, head of WHO’s Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness division, told reporters Monday.
About 15% of the people who contract the virus have ended up with pneumonia with 3% to 5% of all patients needing intensive care, she said.
On Friday, WHO said it sent medical supplies such as masks, gloves, gowns and diagnostic tests around the world.
It is discouraging stockpiling of protective gear, saying the limited items need to be saved for regions most impacted by the virus.
The price of protective gear has increased, while availability has decreased, WHO officials said.
That could have a “knock-on effect” for other ongoing epidemics such as Ebola, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s emergencies program, said Friday.
The agency has set up a referral system where countries that don’t have the capacity to run diagnostic tests can send samples to labs located in different regions around the world.
Tedros said Monday the agency has identified 168 labs with the needed technology to run tests.
(The number of people killed by the new coronavirus rose by 97 on Sunday, the highest number of casualties in a day. Courtesy of BBC and YouTube. Posted on Feb 10, 2020.)
Continue reading… Coronavirus cases spreading outside China ‘could be the spark’ that becomes ‘bigger fire,’ WHO says
AST strives to meet a 3 STAR trustworthiness rating, based on the following criteria:
- Provides named sources
- Reported by more than one notable outlet
- Includes supporting video, direct statements, or photos
