WHO Declares Coronavirus Outbreak A ‘Global Pandemic’
Update ( 1500ET): Dr. Tedros’s effusive praise for China has continued, and stocks are loving it. The Director-General said the global-pandemic label doesn’t suggest China isn’t doing enough to combat the virus. In fact, China is “setting a new standard” for outbreak response, he said.
“It’s actually doing more than China is required to do,” he added.
Outside China, the WHO has only confirmed 98 cases. He added that he has every confidence in China’s ability to control the virus.
Stocks ramping on WHO promoting tourism to China, before reversing after China announces over 10,000 cases at 6pm
And during Tedros’s conversation with senior Chinese officials, he said the government offered to even help with containment if the virus spreads to poorer, more vulnerable countries.
When it comes to the WHO’s refusal to recommend cutting off passenger travel and trade in goods with China, Tedros said that airlines’ decision to suspend service to China is a question of falling demand, not a reflection on the outbreak. Meanwhile, Israel has just become the latest country to bar all flights from China.
Of course, plenty of reporting on the ground suggests that Wuhan has been transformed into a nightmarish dystopia where extremely ill patients are being turned away from hospitals, and millions of terrified residents have been trapped in their own homes. Hospitals in the city are still struggling with supply shortages, including a shortage of facemasks, beds and testing kits.
But yes, sure – it’s a new gold standard for outbreak suppression. Questions from the press were appropriately incredulous, as reporters wheedled Dr. Tedros about his China rhetoric.
The takeaway: The WHO’s account of the situation is somewhat less than credible.
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