Coronavirus emergency 'holds a very grave threat' for world - WHO

[snoop1130]

Coronavirus emergency 'holds a very grave threat' for world - WHO

By Stephanie Nebehay

 

FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of the coronavirus sign in this illustrations taken February 7, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

 

GENEVA (Reuters) - China’s coronavirus outbreak poses a “very grave threat for the rest of the world”, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday in an appeal for sharing virus samples and speeding up research into drugs and vaccines.

 

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was addressing the start of a two-day meeting aimed at accelerating development of drugs, diagnostics and vaccines against the flu-like virus amid growing concerns about its ability to spread.

 

To date China has reported 42,708 confirmed cases, including 1,017 deaths, Tedros said.

 

“With 99% of cases in China, this remains very much an emergency for that country, but one that holds a very grave threat for the rest of the world,” he told more than 400 researchers and national authorities, including some taking part by video conference from mainland China and Taiwan.

 

Tedros, speaking to reporters on Monday, referred to “some concerning instances of onward transmission from people with no travel history to China”, citing cases this week in France and Britain. Five British nationals were diagnosed with the coronavirus in France, after staying in the same ski chalet with a person who had been 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. Our objective remains containment,” he said.

 

Hong Kong residents evacuated from a residential building where a man and woman confirmed with coronavirus live tested negative for the virus, health authorities said on Tuesday, easing concerns of a cluster of the outbreak in the Chinese-ruled city.

 

Many questions remain about the origin of the virus, which emerged at a wildlife market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December, and is spread by people in droplets from coughing or sneezing.

 

“We hope that one of the outcomes of this meeting will be an agreed roadmap for research around which researchers and donors will align,” Tedros told the closed-door meeting, according to remarks made available by the U.N. agency.

 

“The bottom line is solidarity, solidarity, solidarity.

 

That is especially true in relation to sharing of samples and sequences,” Tedros said. “To defeat this outbreak, we need open and equitable sharing, according to the principles of fairness and equity.”

 

Dr. Mike Ryan, WHO’s top emergencies experts, told reporters on Monday: “This is an amazing initiative to centralise our knowledge.”

 

The aim was to identify gaps and generate scientific information for urgently needed medical interventions, he said.

 

“This is not just simply scientific discourse, there are big issues to do with how that whole process is governed,” Ryan said, citing the need to “ensure equitable access” to any products derived from research and approved by regulators.

 

“Bringing everybody together I think will give us a leap-frog moment in terms of coherence, priority-setting,” he said.

 

A week ago, only two laboratories in Africa could diagnose the novel coronavirus but as of Sunday, the WHO expected every nation in Africa to be able to diagnose the disease.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-02-11

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[Surelynot]

Except in Thailand where it is 100% under control. 

[Somewhere In Time]

A good, thorough report from Reuters describing spot-on statements from the WHO director-general.

 

Many wish he and his organization had the foresight to say these things a week or so earlier.

 

With the 2003 SARS legacy not far away in historical reference, one hopes the WHO becomes a more forward-leaning, proactive global institution during future medical dilemmas.

 

SIT

[YetAnother]

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

China’s coronavirus outbreak poses a “very grave threat for the rest of the world”, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday

worry not , thailand is an 'old society' and 'we do things our own way' ; no issue here ; till tourism dries up

[Sydebolle]

12 hours ago, Surelynot said:

Except in Thailand where it is 100% under control. 

And Laos, where there are ZERO cases despite sharing borders and being sandwiches between PR China and the Kingdom of Thailand ....... 

[Andrew Dwyer]

This old Chinese guy doing his best to make sure China remains number one on the Corona virus scale .

 

 

CCTV picked up this guy in Northern China spitting on his hands and smearing all the elevator buttons in his condo on Feb 7th.

Police were called and his temperature taken ( normal ).

He was reported as saying he was only “ joking “ !!,

Well that’s alright then ????

 

source: channel 35 news.

[stephenterry]

Until a vaccine is produced to combat the Coronavirus, there will be continuous outbreaks - could be anywhere.

 

I have little doubt it will spread in Thailand, despite the government's stance that they have it under control - which is patently untrue and impossible. High risk areas are hospitals, doctors clinics, prisons, shopping malls, large scale festive events, and entertainment areas.

 

As an aside, I'm avoiding any massage shop as a precaution, and stocking up on tinned beans...      

[Farma]

An interesting news report

Quote

Chinese officials have warned the coronavirus incubation period could reach 24 days — eight times the median period for most cases.

https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/chinese-officials-have-warned-the-coronavirus-incubation-period-could-reach-24-days/news-story/384e73b743ec81d8aed657a2594a746e

[tandor]

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

“The bottom line is solidarity, solidarity, solidarity.

...hmmm seems like 'solidarity' = 'panic'....but it was a good try WHO.

[SkyFax]

Feb 12. 2020 The number of new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia on the Chinese mainland outside Hubei province, the heart of the epidemic, has been decreasing for seven consecutive days, the National Health Commission said, adding that more patients have been cured and discharged from hospitals due to improved treatment.

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30382004

[Catoni]

3 hours ago, stephenterry said:

Until a vaccine is produced to combat the Coronavirus, there will be continuous outbreaks - could be anywhere.

 

I have little doubt it will spread in Thailand, despite the government's stance that they have it under control - which is patently untrue and impossible. High risk areas are hospitals, doctors clinics, prisons, shopping malls, large scale festive events, and entertainment areas.

 

As an aside, I'm avoiding any massage shop as a precaution, and stocking up on tinned beans...      

Not sure how true it is, but I read that it will take at least three months to develop a vaccine to the testing stage, and a year before it will be ready for distribution and general use. 

[justin case]

5 hours ago, stephenterry said:

Until a vaccine is produced to combat the Coronavirus, there will be continuous outbreaks - could be anywhere.

more people die each day from the common flu than total of corona

 

me thinks, this big scare is good for ... BIG PHARMA

 

anybody remember bird flu scam, swine flu scam, micro encephalitic scam

[natway09]

This is a good report, well written & with good comment.

Please make sure that the Chinese President & Thai PM's get to read it 

[placnx]

7 hours ago, stephenterry said:

Until a vaccine is produced to combat the Coronavirus, there will be continuous outbreaks - could be anywhere.

 

I have little doubt it will spread in Thailand, despite the government's stance that they have it under control - which is patently untrue and impossible. High risk areas are hospitals, doctors clinics, prisons, shopping malls, large scale festive events, and entertainment areas.

 

As an aside, I'm avoiding any massage shop as a precaution, and stocking up on tinned beans...      

 

3 hours ago, Catoni said:

Not sure how true it is, but I read that it will take at least three months to develop a vaccine to the testing stage, and a year before it will be ready for distribution and general use. 

It's likely that the vaccine candidates will be administered to health workers in a few months, assuming that there is active infection then taking place somewhere. There are always ethical issues on trials regarding vaccines, but giving health workers some protection before a clinical trial is justifiable. This was done with the Ebola vaccine in Sierra Leone.

[timendres]

1 hour ago, rhyddid said:

I see a lot of paranoia, scare, fear, of a virus which is not so deadly according to official numbers.
I see a lot of negative marketing media shout of a virus which is not so dangerous according to official figures on  a 1.4 billion population.

Lets do some math and comparison

China
50,000 (still not, but getting close) infected out of 1,400,000,000 people , percent point of 0.00003571429 of infection ratio
now take your calculator and try 1100 deaths/casualties  out of 1,400,000,000 people 

Thailand
33 infected  out of 70,000,000 people, percent point of 0.00000047143

ouch i am so scare..... so scare ......

If you believe the 50,000 number, there is no calculator yet invented that can help you.

[Redline]

9 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

And Laos, where there are ZERO cases despite sharing borders and being sandwiches between PR China and the Kingdom of Thailand ....... 

and Cambodia and Myanmar 

[Redline]

Thailand is its own world, so no worries 

[Kinnock]

So much politics, so little logic.

 

First reported case: 1 December (Lancet report)

 

Incubation period of 3 to 10 days.

 

Person to person spread possible.

 

Spread possible before symptoms show.

 

Mild or no symptoms possible.

 

So it was already too late to contain it by 1 January as you'd need to quarantine every possible contact from mid November onwards.

 

But China Government trying to avoid global and domestic criticism, plus WHO wanting their 15 minutes of fame (and funding), plus news media wanting a good crisis, plus social media junkies wanting more 'likes', plus armchair epidemiologists Googling like crazy - and you have a perfect storm of hysteria.

 

Obviously another epidemic in circulation is not good, but it's not the end of mankind.

 

And the only action that we really need to see being taken by the Chinese Government is to stop the sale of wildlife as food to prevent the next outbreak - but that is being over-shadowed by a clamour for masks, publicity and Likes.