WHO experts to again weigh nCoV emergency status as more nations affected

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced today that its novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) emergency committee will meet again tomorrow to assess if outbreak developments warrant a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), as China reported more than 1,400 new cases, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Finland report their first cases.

The announcement comes a day after top WHO officials returned from meeting with China’s president and health minister. At a media briefing today, Mike Ryan, MD, said the WHO is restarting emergency talks due to China’s ongoing surge of cases and evidence of human-to-human spread outside of China, which total six cases now.

“It’s still a very active outbreak and is changing by the hour,” he said.