Coronavirus: UK advises British citizens to leave China – live updates
Advice comes after 39-year-old man in Hong Kong dies of the virus as WHO says outbreak is not yet a pandemic
- Full story: UK foreign secretary tells Britons in China to leave
- China’s leadership admits ‘shortcomings’ in coronavirus response
- How to protect yourself
- African countries rush to reinforce defences
The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday he had written to all health ministers urging them immediately to improve data-sharing on coronavirus and said he would send a team of international experts to work with Chinese counterparts, Reuters reports.
So far 22 nations have officially reported trade or travel-related measures linked to the coronavirus, which WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said should be “short in duration, proportionate” and reviewed regularly.
Chen Xu, China’s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, told the WHO Executive Board that some restrictions went against the U.N. agency’s advice, and he told countries “not to over-react”.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has said it is taking steps to speed up the development of vaccines and treatments for coronavirus.
In a statement on the agency’s website, Guido Rasi, its executive director, said it had activated its plan for “managing emerging health threats”. He said: