WHO delays declaring China coronavirus’ spread an international emergency

The World Health Organisation said on Wednesday that it will delay deciding whether to label the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus an international emergency.

The WHO’s emergency committee of 21 members and advisers will reconvene in Geneva on Thursday to decide whether a “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC) will be necessary to fight the deadly illness.

The committee, which includes Dr. Malik Peiris, chair of virology at the University of Hong Kong as an adviser, and Wannian Liang, head of the China National Health Commission’s expert panel, was split on Wednesday over whether to announce a PHEIC, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva.

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