WHO doesn’t recommend, and opposes restrictions for travel, trade or other measures against China
By Zhang
Penghui, People’s Daily
The
World Health Organization (WHO) doesn’t recommend, and actually opposes any
restrictions for travel and trade or other measures against China, WHO
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conferences held in
Geneva on Jan 30 local time.
At the
conference, he declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern over
the global outbreak of novel coronavirus and summarized recommendations in
seven key areas.
There is
no reason for measures that unnecessarily interfere with international travel
and trade, Ghebreyesus stressed, saying the WHO doesn’t recommend limiting
trade and movement and calls on all countries to implement decisions that are
evidence-based and consistent.
Didier
Houssin, chair of the Emergency Committee (EC) of the WHO, explained that
travel restrictions are not recommended, such as visa refusal, border closure,
quarantine of travelers who are in good condition.
The WHO
suggests some countries and regions provide science supporting for their
decisions to issue travel restrictions and reconsider some restrictive measures
they’ve taken.
Ghebreyesus
expressed that the he had noticed that some airlines actually said that they
are not flying. It’s not because of the virus, it’s because they don’t have
enough passengers, the WHO chief said, adding that could be a reason, and it
will be very difficult if that’s the case.
A WHO
spokesman reiterated in an interview with People’s Daily that based on
currently available information, WHO does not recommend any restriction of
travel or trade. Countries are encouraged to continue strengthening their
preparedness for health emergencies in line with the International Health
Regulations (2005).
Marc Van
Ranst, dean of the School of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation at
the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in the Dutch-speaking town of Leuven in
Belgium, is an authoritative medical scientist in Europe, and has long been the
Interministerial comissionar, providing advices in dealing with influenza
pandemic in Belgium. His team is currently conducting research on novel
coronavirus.
In an
interview with People’s Daily, he said that after the global outbreak of novel
coronavirus was listed as a public health emergency of international concern,
the WHO will be able to coordinate and organize more international assistance
to jointly fight the epidemic. For instance, it could consult with China to
dispatch an international medical expert group and raise more medical supplies.
The WHO
spokesman said that the international expert group will go to China as soon as
possible to join hands with Chinese experts to carry out more relevant research
on virus transmission and outbreaks.
The
release of public health emergencies of international concern is WHO's normal
practice based on the spread of the epidemic, said Ranst.
From the
perspective of epidemic prevention and control, this move will help raise awareness
among the government, the public, and relevant people, and provide conditions
for the elimination of the epidemic, he added.
The 2009
H1N1 flu pandemic in the United States was classified as a public health
emergency of international concern. In 2016, WHO announced the Zika virus
outbreak in Brazil as a public health emergency of international concern. That
year, Brazil even hosted the Olympics, and when the summer came, the epidemic
in Brazil had greatly eased.
It is
believed that the epidemic of the novel coronavirus will soon be curbed, said
the expert.
Ghebreyesus
highly praised China's efforts to fight the epidemic again at the press
conference and expressed great confidence in China's success in fighting the
epidemic.
He spoke
highly of China's efforts to fight the epidemic and believes that China's
actions set an example for the international community and made a huge
contribution to curbing the spread of the epidemic outside China.
“We
would have seen many more cases outside China by now - and probably deaths -if
it were not for the government’s efforts and the progress they have made to
protect their own people and the people of the world. The speed with which
China detected the outbreak, isolated the virus, sequenced the genome, and shared
it with WHO and the world are very impressive, and beyond words. So is China’s
commitment to transparency and to supporting other countries. In many ways,
China is actually setting a new standard for outbreak response, and it’s not an
exaggeration,” said the WHO chief.
WHO doesn’t recommend, and opposes restrictions for travel, trade or other measures against China
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