WHO admits error in assessment of coronavirus global risk level as total infections cross 4,450
Some reporters asked whether the decision was politicised.
GENEVA (AFP) – The World Health Organization, which has sometimes been criticised for its handling of past disease outbreaks, admitted an error on Monday in its risk assessment of China’s deadly virus.
The Geneva-based UN agency said in a situation report late Sunday that the risk was "very high in China, high at the regional level and high at the global level."
In a footnote, the WHO explained that it had stated "incorrectly" in its previous reports on Thursday, Friday and Saturday that the global risk was "moderate".
The correction of the global risk assessment does not mean that an international health emergency has been declared.
The WHO on Thursday stopped short of declaring the novel coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern – a rare designation used only for the worst outbreaks that would trigger more concerted global action.
A ‘sizeable’ mistake
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is visiting China this week to discuss ways of containing the outbreak, came under intense questioning from reporters on Thursday over his decision not to declare the emergency.
Some reporters asked whether the decision was politicised.
At the briefing at WHO headquarters, however, Tedros had said that the designation could be changed at any moment and that the global risk from the outbreak was "high".
"This is an emergency in China but it has not yet become a global health emergency. It may yet become one," he said.
"WHO’s risk assessment is that the outbreak is a very high risk in China, and a high risk regionally and globally."
WHO said the categorisation was "a global evaluation of risk, covering severity, spread and capacity to cope".
The agency added that the mistake made in three of its situation reports had been an "error in the wording".
Asked about the correction, Antoine Flahault, co-director of the Swiss School of Public Health, told AFP: "It’s a mistake. It’s definitely a sizeable one,... but I really think it’s a mistake that has now been corrected".
Cautious approach
WHO’s cautious approach to the outbreak, which has been challenged by some critics, can be seen in the context of past criticism over its slow or too hasty use of the term, first used for the deadly 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic.
During that outbreak, the UN health agency was criticised for sparking panic-buying of vaccines with its announcement that year that the outbreak had reached pandemic proportions, and then anger when it turned out the virus was not nearly as dangerous as first thought.
But in 2014, the WHO met harsh criticism for dragging its feet and downplaying the severity of the Ebola epidemic that ravaged three West Africa countries, claiming more than 11,300 lives by the time it ended in 2016.
As of Tuesday, more than 4,000 people have been infected across China, the bulk of them in and around Wuhan.
Most of the 106 who have died were in that region, but officials have confirmed multiple deaths elsewhere, including the first in the capital Beijing.
Macau, a gambling hub hugely popular with mainland tourists, has confirmed six cases as of Tuesday.
In Hong Kong, eight people are known to have the disease. Of those, six arrived via a newly built high-speed train terminal that connects the city to the mainland.
Australia
Five cases have been confirmed in Australia -- all of whom arrived in the country from Wuhan. The patients are being treated in hospitals in Sydney and Melbourne.
Cambodia
Cambodia’s health ministry reported the country’s first case of the virus on Monday: a 60-year-old man who arrived from Wuhan and is now stable in an isolation room.
Japan
Japan’s health authorities confirmed the country’s fourth case on Saturday: a man in his 40s, visiting Japan from Wuhan, who is in hospital in a stable condition.
Two other men and a woman have been treated after returning to Japan from the Chinese city.
Malaysia
Malaysia confirmed its fourth case on Sunday. All are Chinese nationals on holiday from Wuhan who arrived in the country from Singapore.
Nepal
Nepal said a 32-year-old man arriving from Wuhan had the disease. The patient, who was initially quarantined, recovered and was discharged.
Singapore
Singapore has so far confirmed five cases of the coronavirus -- all of them arrived in the city-state from Wuhan.
South Korea
South Korean media reported the country’s fourth case on Monday, citing the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The three men and a woman all travelled from Wuhan.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka confirmed its first case of the virus on Monday -- a 43-year-old Chinese woman who entered the country as a tourist last week from Hubei province.
She is being treated in hospital, a spokesman at the Infectious Diseases Hospital near Colombo told AFP.
Taiwan
Taiwan has uncovered five cases so far, the latest a Taiwanese woman in her 50s who was working in Wuhan and flew to the island on January 20.
Thailand
Thailand has detected eight cases so far -- three are receiving treatment in hospital and five have been discharged, according to the health minister.
All the infected persons are Chinese nationals, except for a 73-year-old Thai woman who came back from Wuhan this month.
Vietnam
Vietnam has so far confirmed two cases of the virus. An infected man from Wuhan travelled to Ho Chi Minh City earlier this month and passed the virus on to his son.
Canada
Canada confirmed its first case of the virus on Monday, a man who travelled to Wuhan, and has reported a second suspected case -- his wife, who made the trip with him.
United States
The US has confirmed five cases of the virus in patients who had recently entered the country from Wuhan -- two in California and one each in Arizona, Chicago and Washington state.
France
There are three known cases of the coronavirus in France, the first European country to be affected by the outbreak.
One person is sick in Bordeaux and another is ill in Paris. A third person, a close relative of one of the other two, has also been confirmed to have the virus.
All three had recently travelled to China and have been placed in isolation.
Germany
The country’s first case was confirmed on Tuesday in the southern Bavarian region and was being treated in an isolation ward. The patient was said to be in a "medically good state".
