The World Health Organization has raised the China coronavirus global risk level to "high" from "moderate."
The Geneva based U.N. agency announced Monday that the risk was "very high in China, high at the regional level and high at the global level."
In a footnote, the WHO admitted there had been an "error" in its previous reports published last Thursday, Friday and Saturday, which "incorrectly" assessed the global risk to be "moderate."
When asked about the matter, spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said only that it was "an error in the wording."
The WHO has held off on declaring the outbreak that began in central China a public health emergency of international concern but says it is "an emergency in China."
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is in Beijing to discuss the new coronavirus with Chinese officials in a bid to contain the spread of the respiratory disease that has killed more than 80 in China and infected nearly 3,000 worldwide.■
<Photo: Yonhap News>
