WHO weighs science and politics in global virus emergency decision

FILE PHOTO: People wearing masks travel in the subway, as the country is hit by an outbreak of the new coronavirus, in Beijing, China January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

GENEVA/LONDON (Reuters) - Most of the World Health Organization's (WHO) criteria for declaring a global emergency have been met, but it is awaiting clear evidence of a sustained spread of the new coronavirus outside China before doing so, some experts and diplomats said.

The U.N. agency is seeking to balance the need to ensure China continues to share information about the virus while also giving sound scientific advice to the international community on the risks, according to several public health experts and a Western diplomat who tracks the WHO's work.