The second meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the WHO Director-General under the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus 2019 in the People’s Republic of China, with exportationsto other countries, took place on Thursday, 30 January 2020, from 13:30 to 18:35 Geneva time (CEST).

 

The Committee’s role is to give advice to the Director-General, who makes the final decision on the determination of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The Committee alsoprovides public health advice or suggests formal Temporary Recommendations as appropriate.

 

Proceedings of the meeting

Members and advisors of the Emergency Committeewere convened by teleconference

The Director-General welcomed the Committee and thanked them for their support. He turned the meeting over to the Chair, Professor Didier Houssin.A representative of the department of compliance, risk management, and ethics briefed the Committee members on their roles and responsibilities.

 

The Chair then reviewed the agenda for the meeting and introduced the presenters.Representatives of the Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China reported on the current situation and the public health measures being taken.

 

Thereare now7711 confirmed and12167suspected casesthroughout the country. Of the confirmed cases, 1370 are severe and 170 people have died. 124 people have recovered and been discharged from hospital.

 

The WHO Secretariat provided an overview of the situation in other countries. There are now 83 cases in 18 countries. Of these, only 7 had no history of travel in China. There has been human-to-human transmission in 3 countries outside China. One of these cases is severe and there have been no deaths.

 

The Committee does not recommend any travel or trade restriction based on the current information available.The Director-General declared that the outbreak of 2019-nCoV constitutes a PHEIC and accepted the Committee’s advice and issued this advice as Temporary Recommendations under the IHR.

 

For complete information: who.int/news-room/detail/30-01-2020-statement-on-the-second-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-outbreak-of-novel-coronavirus-(2019-ncov)

The Director-General declared that the outbreak of 2019-nCoV constitutes a PHEIC and accepted the Committee’s advice and issued this advice as Temporary Recommendations under the IHR.