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WHO: Statement on the second meeting of the International Health
Regulations (2005) Emergency Commit
By: Acutedevelopers Date: January 31, 2020, 2:20 am
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Source:
HTML https://www.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
Statement on the second meeting of the International Health
Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of
novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
30 January 2020 Statement
Geneva, Switzerland
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 exportations to 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 also provides public health
advice or suggests formal Temporary Recommendations as
appropriate. Proceedings of the meeting
Members and advisors of the Emergency Committee
HTML https://www.who.int/ihr/procedures/novel-coronavirus-2019/ec-22012020-members/en/<br
/>were 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.
Professor Houssin also welcomed the Committee and gave the floor
to the Secretariat.
A representative of the department of compliance, risk
management, and ethics briefed the Committee members on their
roles and responsibilities.
Committee members were reminded of their duty of confidentiality
and their responsibility to disclose personal, financial, or
professional connections that might be seen to constitute a
conflict of interest. Each member who was present was surveyed
and no conflicts of interest were judged to be relevant to the
meeting. There were no changes since the previous meeting.
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. There are now 7711 confirmed
and 12167 suspected cases throughout 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.
At its first meeting, the Committee expressed divergent views on
whether this event constitutes a PHEIC or not. At that time, the
advice was that the event did not constitute a PHEIC, but
theCommittee members agreed on the urgency of the situation and
suggested that the Committee should continue its meeting on the
next day, when it reached the same conclusion.
This second meeting takes place in view of significant increases
in numbers of cases and additional countries reporting confirmed
cases.
Conclusions and advice
The Committee welcomed the leadership and political commitment
of the very highest levels of Chinese government, their
commitment to transparency, and the efforts made to investigate
and contain the current outbreak. China quickly identified the
virus and shared its sequence, so that other countries could
diagnose it quickly and protect themselves, which has resulted
in the rapid development of diagnostic tools.
The very strong measures the country has taken include daily
contact with WHO and comprehensive multi-sectoral approaches to
prevent further spread. It has also taken public health measures
in other cities and provinces; is conducting studies on the
severity and transmissibility of the virus, and sharing data and
biological material. The country has also agreed to work with
other countries who need their support. The measures China has
taken are good not only for that country but also for the rest
of the world.
The Committee acknowledged the leading role of WHO and its
partners.
The Committee also acknowledged that there are still many
unknowns, cases have now been reported in five WHO regions in
one month, and human-to-human transmission has occurred outside
Wuhan and outside China.
The Committee believes that it is still possible to interrupt
virus spread, provided that countries put in place strong
measures to detect disease early, isolate and treat cases, trace
contacts, and promote social distancing measures commensurate
with the risk. It is important to note that as the situation
continues to evolve, so will the strategic goals and measures to
prevent and reduce spread of the infection. The Committee agreed
that the outbreak now meets the criteria for a Public Health
Emergency of International Concern and proposed the following
advice to be issued as Temporary Recommendations.
The Committee emphasized that the declaration of a PHEIC should
be seen in the spirit of support and appreciation for China, its
people, and the actions China has taken on the frontlines of
this outbreak, with transparency, and, it is to be hoped, with
success. In line with the need for global solidarity, the
Committee felt that a global coordinated effort is needed to
enhance preparedness in other regions of the world that may need
additional support for that.
Advice to WHO
The Committee welcomed a forthcoming WHO multidisciplinary
technical mission to China, including national and local
experts. The mission should review and support efforts to
investigate the animal source of the outbreak, the clinical
spectrum of the disease and its severity, the extent of
human-to-human transmission in the community and in healthcare
facilities, and efforts to control the outbreak. This mission
will provide information to the international community to aid
in understanding the situation and its impact and enable sharing
of experience and successful measures.
The Committee wished to re-emphasize the importance of studying
the possible source, to rule out hidden transmission and to
inform risk management measures
The Committee also emphasized the need for enhanced surveillance
in regions outside Hubei, including pathogen genomic sequencing,
to understand whether local cycles of transmission are
occurring.
WHO should continue to use its networks of technical experts to
assess how best this outbreak can be contained globally.
WHO should provide intensified support for preparation and
response, especially in vulnerable countries and regions.
Measures to ensure rapid development and access to potential
vaccines, diagnostics, antiviral medicines and other
therapeutics for low- and middle-income countries should be
developed.
WHO should continue to provide all necessary technical and
operational support to respond to this outbreak, including with
its extensive networks of partners and collaborating
institutions, to implement a comprehensive risk communication
strategy, and to allow for the advancement of research and
scientific developments in relation to this novel coronavirus.
WHO should continue to explore the advisability of creating an
intermediate level of alert between the binary possibilities of
PHEIC or no PHEIC, in a way that does not require reopening
negotiations on the text of the IHR (2005).
WHO should timely review the situation with transparency and
update its evidence-based recommendations.
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.
To the People’s Republic of China
Continue to:
• Implement a comprehensive risk communication strategy to
regularly inform the population on the evolution of the
outbreak, the prevention and protection measures for the
population, and the response measures taken for its containment.
• Enhance public health measures for containment of the current
outbreak.
• Ensure the resilience of the health system and protect the
health workforce.
• Enhance surveillance and active case finding across China.
• Collaborate with WHO and partners to conduct investigations to
understand the epidemiology and the evolution of this outbreak
and measures to contain it.
• Share relevant data on human cases.
• Continue to identify the zoonotic source of the outbreak, and
particularly the potential for circulation with WHO as soon as
it becomes available.
• Conduct exit screening at international airports and ports,
with the aim of early detection of symptomatic travelers for
further evaluation and treatment, while minimizing interference
with international traffic.
To all countries
It is expected that further international exportation of cases
may appear in any country. Thus, all countries should be
prepared for containment, including active surveillance, early
detection, isolation and case management, contact tracing and
prevention of onward spread of 2019-nCoVinfection, and to share
full data with WHO. Technical advice is available on the WHO
website.
HTML https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance
Countries are reminded that they are legally required to share
information with WHO under the IHR.
Any detection of 2019-nCoV in an animal (including information
about the species, diagnostic tests, and relevant
epidemiological information) should be reported to the World
Organization for Animal Health (OIE) as an emerging disease.
Countries should place particular emphasis on reducing human
infection, prevention of secondary transmission and
international spread, and contributing to the international
response though multi-sectoral communication and collaboration
and active participation in increasing knowledge on the virus
and the disease, as well as advancing research.
The Committee does not recommend any travel or trade restriction
based on the current information available.
Countries must inform WHO about any travel measures taken, as
required by the IHR. Countries are cautioned against actions
that promote stigma or discrimination, in line with the
principles of Article 3 of the IHR.
The Committee asked the Director-General to provide further
advice on these matters and, if necessary, to make new
case-by-case recommendations, in view of this rapidly evolving
situation.
To the global community
As this is a new coronavirus, and it has been previously shown
that similar coronaviruses required substantial efforts to
enable regular information sharing and research, the global
community should continue to demonstrate solidarity and
cooperation, in compliance with Article 44 of the IHR (2005), in
supporting each other on the identification of the source of
this new virus, its full potential for human-to-human
transmission, preparedness for potential importation of cases,
and research for developing necessary treatment.
Provide support to low- and middle-income countries to enable
their response to this event, as well as to facilitate access to
diagnostics, potential vaccines and therapeutics.
Under Article 43 of the IHR, States Parties implementing
additional health measures that significantly interfere with
international traffic (refusal of entry or departure of
international travellers, baggage, cargo, containers,
conveyances, goods, and the like, or their delay, for more than
24 hours) are obliged to send to WHO the public health rationale
and justification within 48 hours of their implementation. WHO
will review the justification and may request countries to
reconsider their measures. WHO is required to share with other
States Parties the information about measures and the
justification received.
The Emergency Committee will be reconvened within three months
or earlier, at the discretion of the Director-General.
The Director-General thanked the Committee for its work.
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