As coronavirus spreads, so do misinformation and xenophobia
In a reversal of its decision last week, the World Health Organization on Thursday officially declared the spread of a novel coronavirus a global health emergency. The virus, which first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of December, has according to the WHO been confirmed in 7,818 cases globally, though China itself has reported higher numbers.
Most infections reported by the WHO — 7,736 as of Thursday — remained in China, as have all of the 170 related deaths. Still, cases of the virus — also called 2019-nCoV — have have now been confirmed in 18 other countries, including the United States, and most recently in the Philippines, Finland, and Canada.
While containing the virus, which causes acute respiratory illness and has no known vaccine, has proved a formidable test for the Chinese government, the country’s swift response has drawn praise from a number of health officials, including WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Announcing the committee’s decision to declare an emergency at a press conference on Thursday, Tedros, as he is known, called for “solidarity not stigma,” and “science, not rumors.” While this call to action was perhaps typical of an aspirational public health official, the public discourse surrounding the outbreak has so far been heavy on rumors and light on science. [Continue reading…]