‘Every scenario on the table’ in Covid-19 outbreak, says WHO’s Tedros

Dr. Mike Ryan, head of WHO’s emergencies programme, said: “The real issue is whether we are seeing efficient community transmission outside of China and at the present time we are not observing that”.

The latest data provided by China on people infected with coronavirus indicates a decline in new cases but “every scenario is still on the table” in terms of the epidemic’s evolution, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, told a news conference in Geneva that China’s detailed paper on more than 44,000 confirmed cases provided insight into the age range of infections, disease severity and mortality rates. (REUTERS)

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, told a news conference in Geneva that China’s detailed paper on more than 44,000 confirmed cases provided insight into the age range of infections, disease severity and mortality rates.

Dr. Mike Ryan, head of WHO’s emergencies programme, asked whether the outbreak was a pandemic, said: “The real issue is whether we are seeing efficient community transmission outside of China and at the present time we are not observing that”.

WHO expert Dr. Sylvie Briand said it was working closely with Japanese authorities and the chief medical officer on the Diamond Princess docked off Yokohama on infections and evacuations, adding: “Our focus is on our public health objective that we contain the virus and not contain the people”.