Coronavirus spread puts the Americas on red alert

Havana, Feb 4 (Prensa Latina) The outbreak of a novel coronavirus was recently declared as a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO), such declaration made governments and health authorities in the Americas and the Caribbean tighten their controls in the face of this virus' threat, which extends to about twenty countries.

Recently, the Ministers of Health of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) held an emergency meeting on 2019-nCoV classified by the WHO as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

The Caribbean Public Health Agency, the main CARICOM institution in the sector, activated its incident management team for emergency response.

This agency is also working with its regional and international health partners to monitor the evolution of the virus and support the national response efforts.

Cuba's Minister of Public Health Jose Angel Portal and the head of the Civil Defense National General Staff, Division General Ramon Pardo analyzed the country's action plan to counteract the new contingency.

To this end, they have planned to protect the country's border, on the grounds of international health control regulations.

Up to now, three major epidemics caused by coronavirus are known: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and this one, originated in China.

The scientific community sets out that these viruses pass to humans and are therefore zoonotic agents. There are several viruses of this type that pass from animal to human but are not transmitted from human to human, but in the case of 2019-nCoV has been proven that there has been this type of transmission.

To the WHO warning, the Deputy Director of the PAHO regional office Jarbas Barbosa explained that the Declaration implies the alert level remains very high.