Moldovan authorities took note of WHO's decision to announce international emergency condition
10:24 | 31.01.2020 Category: Social
Chisinau, 31 January /MOLDPRES/- The Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Moldova has taken note of the decision of the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare an international emergency on spreading coronavirus from Wuhan, China.
A statement posted on the institution's website comprises the decision of the WHO Emergency Committee of 30 January 2020 on the 2019-nCoV coronavirus outbreak in China, which declared a public health emergency of international interest, but without restrictions of movement and trade.
Also, WHO called on all countries and governments to be prepared to deal with coronavirus and to review their emergency plans.
WHO defines a public health emergency of international interest as an "extraordinary event", which is a "public health risk to other states through the international spread of the disease" and which "requires a globally coordinated response".
Under international legislation, the emergency condition leads to more stringent measures in the field of health, to an increase of the financing in the medical field and allocation of additional resources to prevent the spread of disease.
Also, such a decision could determine the world's states to set restrictions on trade and free movement of people, although WHO usually does its best to avoid restrictions on trade. At the same time, the national authorities could set additional scanning measures in airports and other public places to monitor the health of population.
The recommendations set out by WHO are temporary and will be reviewed every three months.
Since 2009, the WHO has declared emergency condition five times: in 2009 due to the swine flu pandemic, the polio epidemic in 2014, the 2014 West African Ebola epidemic, the Zika epidemic in 2015-2016 and the 2018 Ebola epidemic.
According to data provided by Chinese authorities, on 30 January 42 people died from the Wuhan virus, so that the total number deaths amounted to 213.
