WHO Declares Wuhan Virus Epidemic as a Global Emergency

On Thursday, the World Health Organization had announced that the 2019-nCoV epidemic is now a matter of international health concern.


Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, had released the announcement after 18 countries are currently affected by the 2020 Coronavirus.

He shared that in the past few weeks, the Wuhan virus outbreak had reached an alarming international level of concern.


However, he cleared that the announcement does not mean a loss of confidence in the country of China.

The director-general of WHO stated that the main concern of the organization is the higher chance of the virus reaching other countries with unstable health systems.

Last week, experts had rejected twice to declare the 2019-nCoV outbreak as a global emergency.


The declaration of a global emergency by the WHO signifies an alert to all the countries in the world to prevent the spread of a disease or infection while still maintaining current intercontinental travel and trade activities.

It alerts the health authorities of different countries to step-up their operations in monitoring, preparing, and control of the spread of a disease or infection.

WHO does not have the legal power to enforce actions to countries. However, it can question the safety of trade and travel in a nation during the occurrence of a global emergency.

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