Displaying items by tag: health crisis

As we are going to print, Dr Mike Ryan, the WHO’s director of health emergencies, has explained that the global risk level of "very high" is the highest alert the organisation can declare.

He said earlier that it would be "unhelpful" to declare a pandemic when the world was still trying to contain the virus.

"If we say there's a pandemic of coronavirus we're essentially accepting that every human on the planet will be exposed to that virus. The data does not support that as yet," he said.

The World Health Organization is disappointed that it cannot provide more protective equipment to medical workers because of a global shortage, Dr Michael Ryan told a news conference in Geneva.

Here is a summary of the latest situation:

• The World Health Organization upgrades the global risk from the coronavirus to "very high"
• Stock markets across the globe are suffering their worst week since 2008
• The first British death from Covid-19 is announced in Japan
• Nigeria and Mexico confirm their first cases
• China confirms another 327 cases - the lowest daily increase for a month - and 44 deaths, mainly in Hubei
• New Zealand, Belarus, the Netherlands, and Lithuania confirm first cases

New infections outside China top those within (see map image)

Almost 80,000 people in China have been infected with the coronavirus - known officially as Covid-19 - since the virus's discovery in the city of Wuhan, Hubei province, in December.

Although the vast majority of cases of the respiratory infection, which causes pneumonia-like symptoms, remain in China, the virus is now spreading faster outside the country than inside.

The three biggest international outbreaks detected so far have been in South Korea, with more than 2,000 cases, on board the British-registered Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Yokohama, Japan, which has seen more than 700 people infected, and Italy, with more than 640 confirmed cases.

The virus has pandemic potential

The jump in the number of daily confirmed cases internationally has raised fears the outbreak could become a pandemic - when an infectious disease spreads easily from person to person in many parts of the world.

The spread has reached a "decisive point" and has "pandemic potential", WHO head Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus says.

The US has declared the outbreak a public health emergency, the UK has deemed it a "serious and imminent threat" to public health and Japan has closed all its school

Medical researchers and scientists say it is too early to accurately predict how the virus will spread or calculate the death rate, partly due to mild cases remaining untested and unrecorded and a time lag of reporting infections.

As there is not yet a specific anti-viral treatment for coronavirus, people with the infection are currently being treated for their symptoms.

By Lucy Rodgers, Mike Hills, Dominic Bailey and Wesley Stephenson
More at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cyz0z8w0ydwt/coronavirus-outbreak

Pray: for all those affected by this as-yet not fully understood strain of the Coronavirus.
Pray: that the spread of the virus will be contained. Pray: that the economic impacts will be minimised.
Pray: for wisdom and insight for the medical researchers who are seeking both to build their understanding of the virus and the way that it mutates and to identify an effective inoculation and treatment.

The new coronavirus has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization, as the outbreak continues to spread outside China.

"The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The concern is that it could spread to countries with weaker health systems. The death toll now stands at 170 people in China. The WHO said there had been 98 cases in 18 countries outside of the country, but no deaths.

Most cases have emerged in people who have travelled from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak began. However, there have been eight cases of human-to-human infection - in Germany, Japan, Vietnam and the United States.

Dr Tedros, speaking at the press conference in Geneva, described the virus as an "unprecedented outbreak" that has been met with an "unprecedented response". He praised the "extraordinary measures" Chinese authorities had taken to prevent it from spreading. "Let me be clear, this declaration is not a vote of no confidence in China," he added. He also said that there is no reason to limit international trade or travel to China.

Various countries have taken steps to close borders or cancel flights in recent days.

Coronavirus outbreak

Data based on the first 425 cases confirmed in Wuhan:

59 was the average age of those infected

89% were not hospitalised until at least five days of illness

56% of the cases were men

55% of cases diagnosed before 1 January linked to seafood market

Data Source: The New England Journal of Medicine

More info and analysis: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51318246

Pray: for those affected by this as-yet not fully understood strain of the Coronavirus.

Pray: that the spread of the virus will be contained.

Pray: for wisdom and insight for the medical researchers who are seeking both to build their understanding of the virus and the way that it mutates and to identify an effective inoculation and treatment.

India's capital Delhi is battling high pollution levels and extreme temperatures due to an unusual dust haze covering the city. Many people have breathing problems and say the city has become an unliveable place. The state government has banned all construction, and the fire brigade is sprinkling water across the city. People are advised to stay indoors as much as possible. Fourteen Indian cities are among the world's most polluted, according to World Health Organisation. The dust is a carrier of PM2.5 - tiny but deadly air particles, which can increase the likelihood of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Delhi's air pollution is triggering a health crisis. Many residents are saying, ‘Right to clean air should be a part of right to life as enshrined in the constitution’, and ‘It's high time to bring in electric vehicles’. Others assert that Delhi needs a forest buffer zone, which would not be very expensive to implement.