Coronavirus not yet 'emergency' outside China, WHO says
Agency still trying to figure out the causes of outbreak
World Health Organization officials are still trying to figure out the causes and severity of the coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China.
“It is a bit too early to consider that this is a public health emergency of international crisis,” World Health Organization Director Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference on Thursday.
He added that while this is an “emergency in China” it has “not yet become a global health emergency.”
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So far, the outbreak has sickened 584 people, 575 of whom were in China. The other nine cases were in the U.S., Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Potential cases in other countries are still being investigated. All 17 deaths related to the illness were in China. There is no evidence of human-to-human transmission outside of China, according to the WTO.
An experimental Ebola drug from Gilead Sciences may have potential as a treatment, the drugmaker told FOX Business in a statement. The company said it's in active discussions with researchers and clinicians in the U.S. and China.
While Gilead shares were little changed, vaccine makers Novavax, Inovio Pharmaceuticals and NanoViricides were higher.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GILD | GILEAD SCIENCES INC. | 92.11 | -0.52 | -0.56% |
| NVAX | NOVAVAX INC. | 7.22 | -0.55 | -7.02% |
| INO | INOVIO PHARMACEUTICALS | 4.77 | -0.18 | -3.64% |
| NNVC | NANOVIRICIDES | 1.34 | -0.01 | -0.74% |