WHO to convene emergency panel on coronavirus

It will make recommendations to manage the outbreak

Travelers wear face masks as they walk outside of the Beijing Railway Station in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020.

World Health Organisation (WHO) will convene an emergency committee on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) under the International Health Regulations.

The committee will meet on January 22.

Announcing this in a tweet, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom said: “The Emergency Committee on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) will ascertain whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, and what recommendations should be made to manage it.”

Also read:What is the source of the new SARS-like disease reported in China?

The total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reported to date (Jan 21) is 222:(China: 218, Thailand: 2, Japan: 1, Rep of Korea: 1), including 4 deaths (all in Wuhan, China).

The number of people reported with 2019-nCOV in Wuhan, China, includes 15 health care workers.

In India, the Union Health Ministry on Monday wrote to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to facilitate thermal screening at the international airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin for the airlines to follow International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines for managing and notifying anybody reporting illness on flights originating from China and disembarking in India.

Medical staff transfer patients to Jin Yintan hospital on January 17, 2020 in Wuhan, Hubei, China.

It has also written to the Ministry of External Affairs to provide details of travellers from Wuhan who had sought visa to travel to India, since December 31, 2019, and to counsel the applicants while issuing visa. They have also been requested to provide daily details.

“In India, as of today, there are no cases detected on community surveillance or contact tracing but a travel advisory has been issued and put up on the Ministry’s website and also the Twitter handle for wider circulation,” noted a senior health official.