The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak and rapid spread of the coronavirus an international emergency.
Previously, the WHO thought it was too early to speak of an international emergency, but now a committee of the UN organization has determined that the health risks are very serious and transboundary.
The new status, which is called PHEIC with an English abbreviation, will free up more resources to fight this disease. National borders and international airports may also be monitored more closely.
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Nearly 10,000 people have now been infected with the disease and 213 have died. A number of countries have now closed the border with China, airlines have canceled flights to China and countries are taking measures to keep the disease outside their country.
You have probably heard of diseases like SARS and MERS before. These are also coronaviruses that can cause very serious complaints. For example, SARS is a life-threatening lung disease and MERS can cause serious health problems in people with health problems. The new coronavirus that has now emerged is a new variant that is now being researched. It is not yet very clear how the infection came about. The first victims were in any case infected on a market in Wuhan. It is now known that you can get it from person to person, but that it is not very easy. It is also known that you are already contagious in the incubation period.
If you are infected with the new coronavirus, you are short of breath, you have a fever, you have to cough and you get pneumonia.
