WHO has developed a dashboard for Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) with the number of confirmed cases globally, which includes cases in China by provinces, regions and cities, as well as confirmed cases outside China by country.
HIGHLIGHTS
- No new countries reported cases of 2019-nCoV in the past 24 hours.
- An advanced team is currently in Beijing to prepare an international mission and to determine the questions the international team will want to learn more about: from characteristics of the virus to public health response China put in place to try to contain the virus. The group of international experts, with a range of specializations, will work with Chinese counterparts on
increasing understanding of the outbreak to guide global response efforts.
- Since being notified of the outbreak on 31 December, the WHO Country Office in China, supported by the regional and international offices, has worked to support China, and indeed the world, to scale up the response. A small mission was sent to Wuhan mid-January, and the Director-General visited in January.
- Following WHO best practices for naming of new human infectious diseases, which were developed in consultation and collaboration with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), WHO has named the disease COVID-19, short for “coronavirus disease 2019.”
RECOMMENDATIONS AND ADVICE FOR THE PUBLIC
During previous outbreaks due to other coronavirus (Middle-East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), human-to-human transmission occurred through droplets, contact and fomites, suggesting that the transmission mode of the 2019-nCoV can be similar. The basic principles to reduce the general risk of transmission of acute respiratory infections include the following:
- Avoiding close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections.
- Frequent hand-washing, especially after direct contact with ill people or their environment.
- Avoiding unprotected contact with farm or wild animals.
- People with symptoms of acute respiratory infection should practice cough etiquette (maintain distance, coverncoughs and sneezes with disposable tissues or clothing, and wash hands).
- Within healthcare facilities, enhance standard infection prevention and control practices in hospitals, especially in emergency departments.
WHO does not recommend any specific health measures for travellers. In case of symptoms suggestive of respiratory illness either during or after travel, travellers are encouraged to seek medical attention and share their travel history with their healthcare provider.
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