These are a few words that are not reassuring. Friday February 21, at a press conference in Geneva, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization said: “Our shooting window is narrowing, and that is why we called the international community to act quickly, including on funding. That is not what we are seeing, “said.
“As we speak, we are still in a phase where it is possible to contain the epidemic” but “with a narrowing window of opportunity,” he added. As of Friday, February 21, the epidemic had already infected more than 75,500 people in China and 1,150 in 26 other countries. The new virus has killed more than 2,200 people in China and eight others around the world, according to the WHO.
–
“Although the total number of cases outside of China remains relatively small, we are concerned about the number of cases with no clear epidemiological link, such as travel history or contact with a confirmed case,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “We must not look back and regret that we have not taken advantage of the window of opportunity before us,” he insisted, stressing the importance of taking “proportionate” measures. “.
The head of the WHO, however, did not want to specify further what should be the measures that countries should take or not, stressing that it was necessary to examine each situation in detail.
Regarding the situation in China, he said that the international team of experts led by WHO has visited Beijing, Sichuan and Guangdong, and will travel to Wuhan, the cradle of the epidemic, tomorrow.
– .
