The World Health Organization announced today, Tuesday, that the new Coronavirus, which has spread from China to 24 countries, is not yet a "global pandemic". At a time when the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) said there was a lack of response to the Corona epidemic.
"Currently we are not in a state of global pandemic," Sylvie Brian, head of the WHO's epidemic control department, told reporters in Geneva. But she added, "We are at a stage when the epidemic is multifocal."
The virus has killed more than 425 people and infected 20,000 people in China, nearly all of them in the Hubei Province (center), the epicenter of the virus.
Brian stressed that while rapid transmission of the virus is monitored in Hubei, cases outside the province are considered "outbreaks" with separate clusters of infections.
Meanwhile, the authorities in China are implementing strict measures to stop the spread of infection, while other countries that have recorded infections have taken measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
"We hope that based on these measures in Hubei and other places where spread has been recorded, we can stop infection and get rid of the virus," Brian added.
Low percentage
For its part, the National Health Committee of China confirmed that twenty thousand people were infected with the Corona virus, but considered that the death rate due to the virus is very low, despite confirming the death of 425 people.
The committee added that the injuries were more concentrated among the younger age groups. The committee said that citizens are being made aware of sufficient information about the virus, and logistical assistance will be provided to limit its spread.
The Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China has called for improvements in the national emergency management system, after what it described as a deficiency in responding to the epidemic.
This is the first time that the Chinese government has spoken of a deficiency in dealing with the virus, since its outbreak in mid-December. The eastern cities of Taizhou and Hangzhou have announced strict quarantine measures against the residents of the two cities, in an effort to curb the spread of the virus, and these measures include about nine million people.
Today, Tuesday, the Malaysian government confirmed the registration of the first case of infection among its citizens with the new Corona virus in the country, after registering two new cases, one of which is a 41-year-old Malaysian citizen.
According to the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), a second new, discovered case, of a 63-year-old man of Chinese origin, arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on January 18, according to the Minister of Health, Zulfiqal Ahmed. .
This brings the number of people living with the disease in Malaysia to ten, nine of whom are of Chinese origin and only one of Malaysia.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong recorded the first death of the new coronavirus on its soil Tuesday, the second death outside the mainland.
Macau, the world's largest casino center, has asked operators of these clubs to suspend their activity for two weeks in order to help contain the spread of the virus.
In another announcement that would deepen concerns about the economic impact, Hyundai said it would gradually suspend production from its factories in South Korea as a result of a supply chain disruption due to the spread of the virus.
Thailand announced six new confirmed cases today, Tuesday, four Thais and two from China.
New cases have been reported in the United States, including a California patient who was infected as a result of close contact with someone at the same house who contracted the virus in China.
It is the second human infection from person to person in the United States, after another similar case was detected in Illinois last week.
Quarantine
Australia has sent hundreds of people evacuated from Wuhan to a remote island in the Indian Ocean, while Japan has ordered a quarantine on a cruise ship carrying more than three thousand people, after tests showed that a man from Hong Kong who had sailed to it last month was infected with the Corona virus.
China on Monday accused the United States of spreading panic and said today it welcomes its help in fighting the spread of the disease.
The White House said that China had accepted an offer to send US experts, as part of the World Health Organization mission to conduct studies and help combat the spread of the disease.