AKIPRESS.COM - The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a public-health emergency of international concern Thursday as the first person-to-person transmission of the virus was reported in the U.S.

The WHO designation, pointing to an increase in the number of cases, indicates that international public-health authorities now consider the respiratory virus a significant threat beyond China, where it originated last month.

The move could further heighten the global response to the outbreak.

The agency made the declaration after a meeting of its emergency committee, which declined to do so last week.

Since then, China, other governments and multinational businesses have taken emergency steps to limit the virus’s spread, including halting some travel to China.