As infections spread to more countries, WHO and Cambodia dither on health emergency decision

As infections spread to more countries, WHO and Cambodia dither on health emergency decision

The World Health Organization (WHO) in a statement released Wednesday said that is still mulling on whether to declare a global public health emergency to tackle and contain the novel corona-virus outbreak.

This statement comes in the midst of more reports from Germany, Vietnam and Japan were concerns about human-to-human transmission mounts and concerns about the already deadly becoming a more wide spread pandemic spreads.

In Cambodia, people on the streets are beginning to raise questions about the accuracy of the Government report on the corona-virus status in Cambodia as rumors have started emerging in social media that there are more cases.

“People are genuinely afraid and many who have returned to Cambodia in the past few days from infected countries or even China, have reported the almost zero screening at Phnom Penh international airport, the main entry point for non-Chinese travelers.

“Is Cambodia like the WHO, is unable to call a corona-virus emergency as cases start appearing in more countries worldwide or is the disease being viewed as still not serious since the reported sole patient is on the way to recovery,” a doctor shuttles between Cambodia and Singapore said.

He added that Cambodia should share information on this method of treatment, the steps it had taken to isolate and treat the patients as well as the type of medications used so that it would be studied and even copied elsewhere.

WHO, while stating in its statement that the entire world needed to be on alert now, it is still undecided on declaring a global public health emergency.

Several countries have issued advisories against travel to China and Hubei province and started evacuating citizens from Wuhan, straight to quarantine centers on their arrival back home. International airlines to have started suspending or reducing the number of flights to China.