$675 Million Needed To Mitigate the 2019-nCoV Outbreak

To fight further spread of the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak in China and globally, the international community has launched a $675 million dollar preparedness and response plan.

This World Health Organization (WHO) led Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) for the new coronavirus lays out activities and resources needed to prepare and respond to the nCoV-2019 for a period of February-April 2020.

“My biggest worry is that there are countries today who do not have the systems in place to detect people who have contracted with the virus, even if it were to emerge,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said in a February 5, 2020 press release.

“Urgent support is needed to bolster weak health systems to detect, diagnose and care for people with the virus, to prevent further human to human transmission and protect health workers.”

As of 10 a.m. Central European Time on February 5th, 25 countries have reported confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, including China, where 24,363 people had contracted the 2019-nCoV.

The objectives of the SPRP are to limit human-to-human transmission of the virus, particularly in countries most vulnerable if they were to face an outbreak; identify, isolate and care for patients early; communicate critical risk and event information; minimize social and economic impact; reduce virus spread from animal sources, and address crucial unknowns.

The SPRP focuses on:

• Rapidly establishing international coordination and operational support;
• Scaling up readiness and response operations;
• Accelerating priority research and innovation.

“The effectiveness of outbreak response depends on the preparedness measures put in place before outbreaks strike,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, head of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme.

“That is why we are seeking resources to safeguard the most vulnerable countries to protect people from the new coronavirus before it arrives on the doorstep.”

As noted in the SPRP, WHO assesses that the outbreak poses a very high risk in China, and high risk regionally and globally.

The risk assessment was based on factors including the likelihood of further spread, the potential impact on human health, and the varying levels of effectiveness in national preparedness and response measures.

Accelerated action, as called for in the plan, can address these risks and areas requiring support.

Novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV outbreak news published by Coronavirus Today.