WED, MARCH 11 2020-theG&BJournal- The World Health Organisation (WHO) has formerly declared the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) a PANDEMIC, resting the arguments among health experts on how the deadly disease should be described.
The WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebre Wednesday said the world health body made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a Pandemic.
‘’We have never before seen a PANDEMIC sparked by a coronavirus and we have never before seen pandemic that can be controlled at the same time. Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by this coronavirus. It doesn’t change what WHO is doing, and it doesn’t change what countries should do,’’ Adhanom Ghebre said during his media briefing on COVID-19.
Adhanom Ghebre gave a detailed update of the outbreak and called the rapid spread around the globe ‘’alarming.’’
He noted that in the past two weeks, the number of cases of COVID-19 outside China has increased 13-fold and the number of affected countries has tripled. There are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries and 4,291 people have lost their lives.
‘’Thousands more are fighting for their lives in hospitals. In the days and weeks ahead, we expect to see the number of COVID-19 cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries climb higher,’’ Adhanom Ghebre said.
‘’Of the 118,000 COVID 19 cases reported globally in 114 countries, more than 90 percent of cases are in just four countries, and two of those China and South Korea have significantly declining epidemic.
‘’81 countries have not reported any COVID 19 cases, and 57 countries have reported 10 cases or less.
He said all countries must strike a fine balance between protecting health, minimizing economic and social disruption and respecting human rights.
‘’ This is not just a public health crisis, it is a crisis that will touch every sector and every individual must be involved in the fight.’’
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