WHO coronavirus team at ground zero in Wuhan to work out next containment step
- Central Chinese city added to international group’s trip as UN health body warns that epidemic could go either way
- Specialists on fact-finding mission to see how well lockdown has worked
In a brief statement on Saturday, China’s National Health Commission said some Chinese and foreign experts from the joint inspection team visited Wuhan, holding talks with the local health authority and visiting relevant healthcare institutions.
Wuhan was originally not on the team’s itinerary, but was added on Friday as the United Nations health agency warned that the “window of opportunity” for containment was “narrowing”.
WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged governments around the world to remain vigilant amid signs of local transmission in various countries.
“The cases that we see in the rest of the world, although the numbers are small, but not linked to Wuhan or China, it’s very worrisome,” Tedros said. “This outbreak could go in any direction … If we do well, we can avert any serious crisis, but if we squander the opportunity, then we will have a serious problem on our hands.”
The UN team – comprising specialists from the United States, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Russia, Singapore and South Korea – arrived in China last weekend, and visited Beijing, and the provinces of Guangdong and Sichuan.