World Health Organization: Coronavirus is not a reason for global alarm

(Patria) - The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the viral disease in China, which has sickened hundreds of people, is not yet a global health emergency.

The decision came after Chinese authorities today placed three cities under quarantine and canceled major events in the capital Beijing during the Lunar New Year holiday period in an attempt to contain the new virus.

The United Nations health agency announced the decision after independent experts spent two days assessing information about the spread of the newly discovered coronavirus.

The WHO defines a global emergency as an "extraordinary event" that poses a risk to other countries and requires a coordinated international response.

We recall that, according to the latest confirmed information, 17 people have died from the new coronavirus, and more than 500 have been infected.