WHO declares Coronarvirus international health emergency.

[Meria]

The World Health Organization on Thursday declared the outbreak of a novel coronavirus a global health emergency, an acknowledgement of the risk the virus poses to countries beyond its origin in China and of the need for a more coordinated international response to the outbreak.

In making the announcement, WHO leaders urged countries not to restrict travel or trade to China, even as some have shut down borders and limited visas.

Late Thursday, the U.S. State Department increased its travel warning for China, saying people should avoid going to the country. In a tweet, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cited the emergency declaration and the ongoing spread of the virus for the decision, despite what WHO leaders said about travel policies.

 

[Meria]

Meanwhile new york runs out of face masks
As people try to protect themselves from a mysterious new virus that has spread from China, face masks have reportedly sold out in a number of areas in the U.S.—despite experts questioning how much protection they offer.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, five cases of what is known as 2019-nCoV have been confirmed in people in Washington, Illinois, California, and Arizona, with a further 73 individuals awaiting their results.

The patients had recently returned to the U.S. from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where an outbreak of the illness started in December 2019, among people who worked at a wholesale seafood market. Since the start of the outbreak, the bug has spread to over a dozen countries.

Surgical face masks started selling out in pharmacies in Seattle hours after the first case of the new form of coronavirus in the U.S. was identified there last Tuesday, according to BBC News. The news website also reported the face covers have been unavailable in Washington since the weekend, with people making "runs on pharmacies" in New York, and stockpiling the items in Los Angeles.

The Chicago Tribune reported the masks had sold out in one store in the city last week on the eve of the Lunar New Year, after a case was confirmed there. Chinatown in New York City has been hit with similar problems, where over a dozen drug stories had run out on Friday, according to Al Jazeera.

"Everybody's been coming in the morning and saying, do you have face masks? Do you have face masks?" Teresa Zhan, a pharmacist in Chinatown, Manhattan told Al Jazeera. She said people usually buy one or two masks during the regular flu season, but "now, they're like, give me the whole box."

 

[Mawaya]

Kenya Airways finally uses common sense and suspends flights to China until further notice.

 

[thesavage]

Kenya Airways finally uses common sense and suspends flights to China until further notice.

what is the science behind that measure

 

[Bolo Yeung]

 

[Bolo Yeung]

what is the science behind that measure

state wide Quarantine

 

[Nattydread]

The patients had recently returned to the U.S. from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where an outbreak of the illness started in December 2019, among people who worked at a wholesale seafood market. Since the start of the outbreak, the bug has spread to over a dozen countries.

It's always the Chinese food chain.