DETROIT – Officials with the World Health Organization said even though the number of new coronavirus cases in China has dropped, this is no time for complacency.
WHO’s Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus held a news conference Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland, saying that the decline is encouraging, but it’s too early to know if the trend will continue.
He also said the number of coronavirus cases in the rest of the world is very low, compared to China.
“China has reported 74,675 cases of COVID-19 to WHO, including 2,121 deaths,” Ghebreysus said. “The data from China continues to show a decline in new confirmed cases. Once again, we’re encouraged by this trend but this is no time for complacency."
He said there have been 1,076 cases and seven deaths reported in 26 countries outside of China.
“The past 24 hours, the Islamic Republic of Iran has reported five cases, two of which have died," Ghebreysus said. “This is the first report from Iran. Of all cases outside China, more than half are among passengers on the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship. The first passengers have now disembarked, providing they have a negative test, no symptoms and no contact with a confirmed case in the past 14 days.”
WHO is currently awaiting the results of two clinical trials for possible treatments to the virus. They are expected to be ready in three weeks.
Hundreds of passengers who tested negative for the coronavirus have started to leave a quarantined cruise ship in Japan amid heavy criticism over the country’s handling of the outbreak.
Meanwhile, two senior passengers, who were taken off of the ship because they were infected with the virus, had died, becoming the first fatalities from the virus-stricken vessel, officials said.