WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the coronavirus "a previously unknown pathogen, which has escalated into an unprecedented outbreak" at a press conference on Thursday, but said the WHO was not recommending restrictions of trade or travel with China, where the virus originated.

Tedros pointed out that the declaration was "not a vote of no confidence in China," but made out of concern for other countries, with "weaker" healthcare systems.

China's response to the outbreak has been "very impressive," the WHO chief added. "So is China's commitment to transparency and to supporting other countries."

"China is actually setting a new standard for outbreak response."

While the majority of coronavirus cases have been registered in China, the WHO confirmed there were 98 confirmed cases elsewhere in the world - including eight cases of direct transmission in Germany, Japan, Vietnam and the US.

The "vast majority" of cases outside of China have either traveled to Wuhan or been in contact with someone who has, the WHO officials noted.

"The only way we will defeat this outbreak is for all countries to work together in a spirit of solidarity and cooperation," Tedros said. "We are all in this together, and we can only stop it together."

Coronavirus is the unofficial name of the pathogen, which the WHO is referring to by its interim name, 2019-nCoV. The condition caused by it is being called "2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease."

The virus first appeared in Wuhan, in China's Hubei province, on December 31. Since then, it has infected at least 8,130 people in China, at least 100 of whom have died. The 2019-nCoV appears to be closely related to the SARS vector, which infected 8,100 people across 17 different countries in 2003, killing 774.

The much faster pace of coronavirus infections, however, has the WHO and public health officials in China very concerned.

The first US case of person-to-person coronavirus transmission has been recorded in Chicago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Illinois officials confirmed.

The new patient is the husband of a Chinese woman who brought the infection over from Wuhan, officials said Thursday at a press briefing. His wife is being held in isolation at a local hospital.

"Despite the case that we are reporting the first instance of person-to-person transmission in the United States, it is important to note that these two individuals were in close contact," said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

Messonnier called the outbreak "a very serious public health situation" and added that "Moving forward, we can expect to see more cases, and more cases means more potential for person-to-person spread."

Patients in the five 2019-nCoV cases previously confirmed in the US all contracted the infection in China. As of Wednesday, the CDC was monitoring an additional 160 people across 36 US states. Of those, 68 have tested negative for the virus, while the results for the remaining 92 are still pending.

Thursday's revelation means the US is now the fifth confirmed country with a direct transmission case of the virus.

"Although the numbers outside China are still relatively small, they hold the potential for a much larger outbreak," said World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, calling the continued rise in the number of infections and direct transmission "most deeply disturbing."

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday the deadly coronavirus outbreak that has claimed the lives of 213 and infected almost 10,000 people globally could boost the US economy.

"I think it will help to accelerate the return of jobs to North America - some to US, probably some to Mexico as well," Ross said in an interview on Fox News.

He acknowledged the downside, saying, "I don't want to talk about a victory lap over a very unfortunate, very malignant disease."

And yet he does anyway.

Ross added that businesses need to take the risk into account and consider the virus when reviewing supply chains.

Later, the US Commerce Department said in a statement: "As Secretary Ross made clear, the first step is to bring the virus under control and help the victims of this disease."

The commerce department's spokesperson added: "It is also important to consider the ramifications of doing business with a country that has a long history of covering up real risks to its own people and the rest of the world."

Typical projection from a US official.

The statements have been criticized by some economists and politicians, with Democrat congressman Don Beyer tweeting that Ross' reaction to a "disease killing hundreds is to talk about ways to make money off it."

"Somehow they always find a way to be worse," he added.

White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said on Thursday that Washington will not make tariff concessions to Beijing, explaining that the tariffs are in place because China "engages in massive unfair subsidies."

This week, the World Health Organization declared a global emergency as China's coronavirus spread to 18 other countries.

Analysts say the virus could hurt China's economy. It has already forced global companies including tech giants, auto makers, and retailers to temporarily shut down in China after the authorities extended the Lunar New Year holiday and imposed major travel bans across the country.

Experts from a tech company based in Wuxi in eastern China's Jiangsu Province, working with the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, developed the rapid nucleic test kit in just ten days, according to the Xinhua news agency.

The test takes between eight and 15 minutes to produce a result and is currently being mass-manufactured at a rate of 4,000 kits per day, with the city government in Wuxi exploring efforts to boost production even further.

China is really demonstrating its capabilties throughout this high profile outbreak:

The first batch of kits has reportedly already been deployed to the frontlines at the epicentre of the outbreak, Wuhan, in Hubei province.

The two patients in England are receiving "specialist NHS care," Chief Medical Officer for England Professor Chris Whitty said, stressing that the UK has "robust infection control measures" in place to respond to the deadly virus.

"The NHS is extremely well-prepared and used to managing infections and we are already working rapidly to identify any contacts the patients had, to prevent further spread."

Let's hope the outbreak is mild because the underfunded NHS has been struggling with the flu outbreaks in recent years.

According to Whitty, the UK is working closely with the WHO to ensure that the country is "ready for all eventualities" regarding the health crisis.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Thursday that the epidemic constitutes a global health emergency, noting that the virus has infected people who had not traveled to China.

Originating in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the new coronavirus has claimed at least 213 lives - all in China - and spread to nearly twenty countries.

Governments have been scrambling to stop the spread of the virus. Countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas have suspended direct flights to Chinese cities, hoping that restricted travel could help prevent further infections. Several states, including Russia, Japan and the US, have also issued travel advisories for China.

"The World Health Organization urged countries to avoid travel restrictions, but very soon after that, the United States did the opposite," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement. "It's truly mean."

Earlier on Friday, the US State Department issued its highest-level travel warning, advising citizens: "Do not travel to China due to novel coronavirus." The warning also advised those currently in China to "consider departing using commercial means."

The US warning came a day after the World Health Organization labeled the outbreak of the SARS-like Wuhan coronavirus a "public health emergency of international concern." Since the virus broke out in Wuhan - a city of 11 million people - last month, it has spread to every region of China and at least 25 other countries, killing at least 213 people and infecting just under 10,000, mostly in China.

The US is not the only country advising its citizens to avoid China. Britain, Germany, Russia, Japan and others have all issued their own travel warnings, and China's neighbors have locked down their borders. Singapore banned all arrivals and transfers from travelers from Chinese airports. Mongolia banned all arrivals from China by air, train and road. Vietnam suspended all tourist visas for Chinese citizens and foreigners who have been in China in recent weeks, and Russia closed its far east border with China.

At least seven major airlines, including Air France, KLM, British Airways, American Airlines and Lufthansa, have all stopped flying to mainland China, and several governments, including the US, Britain and Japan, have chartered flights to evacuate their citizens from the Wuhan area.

Beijing has lashed out at countries fanning fears of the novel coronavirus — which so far claimed 259 lives — insisting that its response against the deadly disease goes far beyond standards accepted worldwide.

"We have adopted the most comprehensive and strictest prevention and control measures, and many of them go far beyond the requirements of the International Health Regulations," Foreign Minister Wang Yi assured while speaking with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Saturday.

"China's efforts are [aimed at] not only protecting the health of its own people, but also safeguarding the health of people worldwide. Governments and the World Health Organization have given full recognition to this."

The death toll from the previously unknown virus has risen to 259 overnight — all registered in China — with almost 12,000 confirmed cases elsewhere in the world.

Beijing "does not agree with the approach adopted by individual countries to create tension or even panic," the minister pointed out, reminding that the World Health Organization (WHO) "did not approve of travel or trade restrictions on China."

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