The World Health Organisation has declared the coronavirus outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern.”
The decision comes as the death toll from the virus reaches 170 in China - with health authorities saying there have been 7,736 confirmed cases in the country.
There have been 98 confirmed cases of the virus in 18 other countries – including France, Germany and the US.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the outbreak has been unprecedented; however, he noted that it has been met with “an unprecedented response.”
He said the Chinese Government should be congratulated for the “extraordinary measure” it has taken to contain the outbreak, “despite the severe social & economic impact those measures are having on the Chinese people.”
“We would have seen many more cases outside China by now, and probably deaths, if it were not for the government’s efforts and the progress they have made to protect their own people and the people of the world,” he said.
The epicentre of the outbreak is the city of Wuhan in China’s Hebei province and Dr Ghebreyesus said the vast majority of international cases involve people who have travelled to the region or have had contact with someone who has.
He warned that the international community must act to ensure the virus does not spread to any country with a weak health system – and prepare for the possibility that it will.
