Chinese health authorities said there were 7,711 confirmed cases in the country as of 29 January. Infections have also spread to at least 15 other countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) will meet on Thursday to consider again whether the virus constitutes a global health emergency. Various countries have implemented evacuation and quarantine plans for nationals wanting to return from China, where the outbreak began in the city of Wuhan. Russia has decided to close its 4,300km (2,670-mile) far-eastern border with China in an attempt to stop contagion. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus named Germany, Vietnam and Japan, as places where people had caught the virus from others who had visited China.
