WHO warns overseas coronavirus spread may be ‘tip of the iceberg’2Photo© hindustantimes.com

WHO warns overseas coronavirus spread may be ‘tip of the iceberg’

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The head of the World Health Organization said on Monday there have been “concerning instances” of coronavirus among people with no travel history to China, warning that it could be the “tip of the iceberg”, as he urged all countries to prepare for the possible arrival of the novel virus that has killed over 900 people.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lauded the doctors, nurses and health workers for doing “their utmost” at personal risk to contain the epidemic, terming them “true heroes” of the outbreak that first surfaced in December in Wuhan city in China’s central Hubei province where millions of people are under lockdown in a bid to stop it from spreading.

“There’ve been some concerning instances of onward 2019nCoV spread from people with no travel history to China. The detection of a small number of cases may indicate more widespread transmission in other countries; in short, we may only be seeing the tip of the iceberg,” tweeted Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO.