GENEVA, 29 January 2020:: The World Health Organisation admits it made a mistake in its wording that previously described the risk assessment for the novel coronavirus as moderate.
It is now wording the risk level as high at both regional and global levels.
The Geneva-based UN agency explained on Monday that previous reports last week has now been updated. However, it still stops short of declaring the novel coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern.
Identified in Wuhan China 31 December the virus has now infected more than 4,000 people worldwide with most of the cases in Hubei province and a few cases reported in 13 other countries worldwide.
The death toll has risen to 100 all of the victims in China.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus who came under pressure for the wording mistake said: “This is an emergency in China, but it has not yet become a global health emergency, but it may yet become one.” The current assessment is that the outbreak is “very high risk in China, and a high risk regionally and globally.”
