Coronavirus outbreak
For the first time, new cases outside China outnumber those inside: WHO
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
A security officer in a protective mask checks the temperature of a passenger at an expressway toll station in Xianning, China, on Jan 24, 2020.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
GENEVA • The number of new cases of the coronavirus reported outside China has exceeded the number of new cases in China for the first time, World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told diplomats in Geneva yesterday.
The WHO put the number of new cases in China at 411 on Tuesday. Those registered outside the country stood at 427.
Dr Tedros said that as of yesterday morning, 78,190 cases of Covid-19 had been registered in China, including 2,718 deaths. There were 2,790 cases and 44 deaths reported across 37 other countries.
Dr Tedros acknowledged that the hike in cases outside China had prompted a push for a pandemic to be declared.
"We should not be too eager to declare a pandemic," he said, stressing that such a declaration could "signal that we can no longer contain the virus, which is not true".
But he insisted that WHO would not hesitate to declare a pandemic "if it is an accurate description of the situation".
Five regions in China have meanwhile downgraded their emergency response level after assessing that health risks from the virus outbreak have receded, state media and government authorities reported yesterday. Inner Mongolia region in northern China, western Xinjiang region, south-western Sichuan province, north-eastern Jilin province and the southern island of Hainan have all cut their emergency response levels.
China has also quarantined 257 passengers from two flights from South Korea, state broadcaster CCTV reported yesterday.
China quarantined 94 passengers on a flight from Seoul after it landed in Nanjing on Tuesday and three people on it showed signs of fever.
It also quarantined 163 passengers on another flight from South Korea to the eastern city of Weihai yesterday after five passengers showed signs of fever.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
