WHO backs actions on containing coronavirus

A World Health Organization official on Tuesday expressed support and praise for China's strict measures to control the novel coronavirus outbreak, countering claims by some that they are too harsh.

"You can argue whether those measures are excessive or whether they're restrictive on people, but there's a lot at stake here, an awful lot at stake, in terms of public health and in terms of not just the public health of China but people all over the world," said Michael Ryan, a WHO leader on health emergencies.

Finding the balance between civil liberties and necessary restrictions is sometimes difficult, Ryan said. "Right now, the strategic and tactical approach in China is the right one," he said.

Lawrence Gostin, an expert in public health law and professor at Georgetown University in Washington, told Time.com recently that quarantines are beneficial.

"While expensive, it's more than worth it. It prevents spread of serious illnesses. And it's far less costly than having to hospitalize many patients who could contract the coronavirus infection," Gostin said.

Ryan also backed Japan's decision to place under quarantine the cruise liner Diamond Princess, which has been moored in Yokohama since Feb 4.

"It's very easy in retrospect to make judgments on public health decisions made at a certain point," he said.

Ryan said the WHO is eager to study the cruise-ship transmission to understand what went wrong, so those lessons can be applied to similar efforts in coming days.

China announced on Wednesday morning that the number of cases was at 74,280－up 1,752 from the day before－and the death toll now stands at 2,006, an increase of 136, the authorities said.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday that the agency's experts are still struggling to understand how fatal and contagious the virus is outside China.

"We don't have enough data on cases outside China to make meaningful conclusions," he said at a news briefing in Geneva, noting that there haven't been sustained human-to-human transmissions outside China except for those on the Diamond Princess.

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"We still have a chance of preventing a broader global crisis," said Tedros. "WHO will continue working night and day with all countries to prepare them."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday that one of his biggest concerns is the possible spread of the coronavirus to countries with "less capacity in their health service".

Guterres told The Associated Press in Pakistan that if that were to happen, those countries would require much international help and solidarity.

Egypt has reported its first case of the virus, sparking fears that it could spread across Africa, which is particularly ill-equipped to handle such epidemics.