evidence: On December 31, WHO received information through a disease reporting database of unexplained pneumonia cases in China. The next day, January 1, WHO Geneva requested verification of these cases from Chinese health authorities under the International Health Regulations (IHR) Article 9. WHO began working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on January 1st, immediately after the WHO learned of the outbreak, and sent out advisories to worldwide public-health leaders beginning January 5. On January 10, WHO issued a comprehensive package of guidance to countries on how to detect, test, and manage potential COVID-19 cases, and how to best protect health workers. WHO scientists first arrived in Wuhan on January 20. On January 22, WHO convened an emergency committee meeting. On this same day, the President made his first comments about the coronavirus, saying, "We have it totally under control…It’s going to be just fine." On January 23, WHO warned of a 4 percent death rate, human-to-human transmission, and the potential of the virus to reach "any country." WHO declared COVID-19 to be an international health emergency on January 30 and immediately urged countries to take aggressive action. [...] On January 3, WHO notified the U.S. CDC of the unexplained outbreak. CDC issued its first warning about the outbreak on January 7, and over the following two weeks WHO continued to engage with Chinese health authorities to receive genetic sequencing of the virus and additional information about the growing number of cases in Wuhan.