The new coronavirus has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization as it continues to spread outside China.
"This statement did not promote what is happening in China, but what is happening in other countries," said WHO leader Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. WHO worries that the virus will spread to developing or underdeveloped health states.
Currently, the United States has instructed citizens not to travel to China.
At least 213 people have died in China - mainly in Hubei province where the virus first appeared - and nearly 10,000 have been infected.
The WHO said there were 98 infected in 18 other countries, but no dead.
Most of the international infected were at one point in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei province, China. However, cases of human-to-human transmission have been recorded in Germany, Japan, Vietnam and the United States.
In a press statement in Geneva, Dr. Tedros described the virus as an "unprecedented outbreak" that was met with "unprecedented reactions."
He praised China's extraordinary measures and said there was no reason to restrict travel or trade with China.
How unusual is the WHO declaration of emergency
The WHO declares Public Health Emergency of International Importance when "an extraordinary event occurs that is defined as a risk of spreading the disease to other countries."
It has been declared five times before:
The H1N1 virus, which spread worldwide in 2009, killed more than 200,000 people.
The poliomyelitis, which was almost wiped out in 2012 but returned in 2014.
Zika virus, which spread rapidly on the American continents in 2016.
The Ebola virus, which infected some 30,000 people and killed more than 11,000 in 2014 alone. In 2019, the virus reappeared in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Source: BBC
