On Monday, the World Health Organization admitted an error in its assessment of the global risk of a deadly virus in China, stating it was "high" and not "moderate". The Geneva-based UN health agency had said that the risk was "very high in China, high at the regional level and high at the global level."

Later in a footnote, the WHO explained that it had stated "incorrectly" in its earlier reports on Thursday, Friday and Saturday that the global risk was "moderate". The rectification of the global risk assessment does not mean that an international health emergency has been declared.

WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said that there had been "an error in the wording".The WHO said it was "a global evaluation of risk, covering severity, spread and capacity to cope".

On Thursday, the WHO had stopped short of declaring the novel coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern - a rare designation used for the most severe outbreaks that could trigger more intensive global action.

On Thursday WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who was visiting China this week discussed how to contain the outbreak, said that this is an emergency in China, but has not yet become a global health emergency.

WHOs cautious approach was seen in the circumstance of past criticism over its slow or too hurried use of the term. It was first used for the deadly 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic. During that outbreak, the UN health agency was criticized for generating panic-buying of vaccines with its announcement that year regarding the outbreak which has reached pandemic proportions.

However, in 2014, the WHO had met severe criticism for dragging its feet and restraining the severity of the Ebola epidemic that withered three West Africa countries, almost claiming more than 11,300 lives by the end of 2016.

Source: ET Healthworld