Geneva: The WHO Emergency Committee held a discussion on Wednesday over concerns about the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, but it did not come to a concrete decision whether to declare a global state of emergency.
The committee is reconvening on Thursday to consider further steps.
Director-General of World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros said on Wednesday that the organization needs more information to decide if the Emergency Committee should declare a public health emergency, adding that the decision is very serious.
"The decision about whether or not to declare a public health emergency of international concern is one I take extremely seriously, and one I am only prepared to make with appropriate consideration of all the evidence", Dr. Tedros said at the meeting.
Dr. Tedros asked the committee to meet again on Thursday to continue the discussion on the issue, adding that it is an evolving and complex situation.
He also commented on the travel ban introduced in the Chinese city of Wuhan - the center of the virus outbreak, saying that what they are doing is very, very strong measures and with full commitment.
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An outbreak of previously unknown pneumonia was registered in Wuhan in late December which was later identified as a new type of coronavirus and denoted as 2019-Nov by the WHO.
The authorities in Wuhan city in China where the coronavirus originated, have imposed a complete travel ban on residents, in a bid to curb the spread of the deadly virus.
The ban issued by command authority in the city said that from 10:00 am on Thursday, urban buses, subways, ferries and long-distance passenger transport would be suspended in the city.
Aside from this, flights and trains departing from Wuhan will also be suspended.
The new virus sparked major concerns globally over the possibility of it turning into an epidemic, as cases of the Wuhan coronavirus have been already registered in Hong Kong and Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, the United States, and also Macau.
At least 17 people have been killed due to the deadly virus while more than 550 others throughout China have been infected with it.
Chinese health authorities have confirmed that the virus can spread from human to human.
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