Coronavirus Is Now A Global Pandemic

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

The arrival of the coronavirus in almost all corners of the globe has led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the outbreak on Wednesday a global pandemic.

WHO Director Tedros Adhanom said that due to the increasing number of cases outside of China, the coronavirus can no longer be considered an epidemic.

"We are concerned about the alarming levels of spread and the alarming levels of inaction," Adhanom said at a press conference, according to the newspaper El País. "Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, misused can cause unreasonable fear or unwarranted acceptance that the fight is over, which will lead to unnecessary suffering and death.

By definition, a pandemic is a disease that spreads to several countries in the world simultaneously. So far, according to the WHO, 114 countries have reported cases of coronavirus.

"In the coming days and weeks, we hope to see the number of cases, deaths and affected countries increase further," said Adhanom. "We have never seen a coronavirus pandemic before. This is the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus and we have never seen a pandemic that can be controlled at the same time before.”

The head of the WHO called on the governments of the different countries to take urgent and aggressive measures to combat this outbreak, in an effort to prevent more deaths.

"We are in this together to do the right thing calmly and protect the citizens of the world," he said.

In the United States, the virus has spread to at least 38 states, with more than 1,000 cases and 31 deaths, figures that are increasing almost every hour.