WHO-led Team of International Experts Leaves for China

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted late 9 February that an advance team for the WHO-led 2019-nCoV international expert mission has left for China. The team is led by Dr. Bruce Aylward, a Canadian epidemiologist and veteran of public health emergencies. Earlier, Dr. Michael Ryan, Executive Director of WHO Health Emergencies Program, said that members of the team will cover clinical management, virology, vaccine, drug development, ecological investigation, animal health, epidemiology, public health and risk communication. He also noted that the objective of the team's visit is "to learn, primarily, from Chinese counterparts their experience in dealing with this event, so that the world can learn from them".

Earlier in the day, Dr. Tedros also tweeted to salute frontline medical workers who are doing their utmost to stem the 2019-nCoV outbreak in China, especially in Hubei Province.