(Eagle News) — The number of confirmed deaths from the novel coronavirus rose to 305 on Sunday, Feb. 2 — 304 from China, and one in the Philippines, the first outside China where it originated. Total confirmed cases meanwhile rose to 14,599 — most of which are in China at 14,422. Additional confirmed cases were also reported in various countries, with Britain, Russia and Sweden confirming their first nCoV-2019 infections this weekend. With the […]
Tag: WHO
WHO declares global virus emergency as death toll hits 213, nCoV infections almost 10,000
by Sébastien RICCI Agence France Presse WUHAN, China (AFP) — The World Health Organization declared a global emergency over the new coronavirus, as China reported Friday the death toll had climbed to 213 with nearly 10,000 infections. The UN health agency based in Geneva had initially downplayed the threat posed by the disease, but revised its risk assessment after crisis talks. “Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries […]
WHO declares international emergency over novel coronavirus
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The UN health agency on Thursday declared an international emergency over the deadly novel coronavirus from China — a rarely used designation that could lead to improved international coordination in tackling the disease. “Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems,” World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said as he declared a “public health emergency of international concern”. “This is […]
WHO chief, President Xi meet in Beijing; agree on entry of int’l experts into China to help stem virus epidemic
(Eagle News) – China and the World Health Organization (WHO) both agreed to have international experts visit the country which is now at the center of the deadly 2019 novel coronavirus that has so far claimed more than 130 lives. This was the consensus in a meeting held on Tuesday, Jan. 28, between WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The two officials “shared the latest information on […]
WHO says still probing if Chinese virus can spread before symptoms
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization said Monday it remained unclear if the deadly coronavirus spreading in China and beyond is contagious during its incubation period before symptoms appear. The virus, which can cause a pneumonia-like acute respiratory infection, has in a matter of weeks killed more than 80 people and infected some 2,740 in China, while cases have been identified in more than a dozen other countries. In a fresh report on […]
WHO says global risk of China virus is ‘high’
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization on Monday said the global risk from the deadly virus in China was “high”, admitting an error in its previous reports that said it was “moderate”. The UN health body said in a situation report published late Sunday that the risk was “very high in China, high at the regional level and high at the global level.” In a footnote, the WHO said there had been […]
WHO chief heads to China for virus talks
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The head of the World Health Organization headed to China on Sunday to discuss how to contain a virus outbreak that has killed 56 people and infected over 2,000 worldwide. “I am on my way to Beijing, to meet with the government and health experts supporting the #coronavirus response,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Twitter. “My WHO colleagues and I would like to understand the latest developments and strengthen […]
How the new coronavirus developed
PARIS, France (AFP) — A new coronavirus, a mysterious SARS-like disease, has spread around China and three other Asian countries since first emerging in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. A timeline: – Alarm raised – The World Health Organization (WHO) is alerted on December 31, 2019, by the Chinese authorities of a string of pneumonia-like cases in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people. Patients are quarantined and work begins on identifying the origin […]
First case of mystery SARS-like virus found outside China
by Nina LARSON GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — A new virus from the same family as the deadly SARS disease has spread beyond China’s borders for the first time with a case emerging in Thailand, UN and Thai officials said on Monday. Thai doctors diagnosed with a Chinese traveler with mild pneumonia on January 8 later confirmed to have been caused by the so-called novel coronavirus — which has already given rise to 41 pneumonia-like […]
Measles killed more than 140,000 amid stagnating vaccine rates
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — More than 140,000 people died from measles worldwide in 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) and US authorities said Thursday, the result of global vaccination rates that have stagnated for almost a decade. Poorer countries were hardest hit, with the vast majority of measles cases and deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. Wealthier countries, however, have also been battling their own outbreaks, with four European nations losing their “eliminated” status in 2018. […]
WHO prequalifies first Ebola vaccine
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said it had prequalified an Ebola vaccine for the first time, hailing a “critical step” towards its licensing, access and roll-out in countries most at risk of outbreaks. “This is the fastest vaccine prequalification process ever conducted by WHO,” it said in a statement, explaining that “prequalification means that the vaccine meets WHO standards for quality, safety, and efficacy.” The announcement comes hot on […]
DOH confirms second case of polio in 19 years
(Eagle News)–The Department of Health has confirmed a second case of polio in the country in 19 years. In a press release, the DOH said the case this time involves a five-year-old boy from Laguna. The DOH said the boy, who experienced the onset of paralysis on Aug. 25, tested positive for the polio virus after samples were sent to the Japan National Institute for Infectious Diseases. Although the boy has been discharged from the […]





