Countries must shift mindset to virus preparedness: WHO expert

GENEVA – Countries need to prepare immediately for an outbreak of the novel coronavirus so they can respond rapidly when it arrives, a top World Health Organization expert said on Tuesday.

“Think the virus is going to show up tomorrow,” Dr. Bruce Aylward, head of the joint WHO-Chinese mission on the outbreak, told reporters on return to Geneva. Aylward said the public needed to be educated about the issue to ensure their support in the battle to contain the virus. He said 10% of people who come in contact with an infected person contracts the virus.Iran’s coronavirus death toll rose to 16, the highest outside China, increasing its international isolation as nations from South Korea to Italy accelerated emergency measures to curb the epidemic’s global spread.

Authorities should prepare hospital beds, isolation zones, respirators and oxygen for severe cases, he said. Plans should be in place to transport and test suspected victims of the disease that has sickened tens of thousands of people.Referring to his two-week visit to Beijing and three other provinces, including Hubei and the epidemic’s center, the city of Wuhan, he said: “It is staggering.

From disaster preparedness to also virus preparedness. It's beyond being a boy scout.

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