Wuhan, China, Jan 31 (AFP/APP): The World Health Organization declared a global emergency over the new coronavirus, as China reported Friday the death toll had climbed to 212 with nearly 10,000 infections. The UN health agency based in Geneva had initially downplayed the threat posed by the disease, but revised its risk assessment after crisis talks. “Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a briefing in Geneva on Thursday. “We must all act together now to limit further spread… We can only stop it together.” Tedros nevertheless said travel and trade restrictions with China were unnecessary to stem the spread of the virus, which has spread to more than 15 other countries. Many countries have already urged their citizens not to visit China, while some have banned entry for travellers from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus first surfaced. The US reported its first case of a person catching the virus from another person on American soil — a man in Chicago who contracted the illness from his wife, who had travelled to Wuhan. Airlines began cancelling flights servicing China on … Continue reading WHO declares global virus emergency as death toll hits 212