The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the COVID-19 coronavirus disease that has spread across the world as a pandemic. According to the global health organisation, 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,” WHO stated.
It added that in the days and weeks ahead, it expects to see the number of cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries climb even higher.
“WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction. We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.”
WHO
What is a pandemic?
A pandemic is a disease epidemic that has spread across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or worldwide. It is worthy to note that a widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic.
Pandemic is therefore not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death, the WHO noted.
WHO DG said: “Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by this virus. It doesn’t change what WHO is doing, and it doesn’t change what countries should do.”
The announcement makes COVID-19 to be the first pandemic to be sparked by a coronavirus. In the same vein, there has also never been a pandemic that can be controlled, at the same time.
“Of the 118,000 cases reported globally in 114 countries, more than 90 percent of cases are in just four countries, and two of those – China and the Republic of Korea – have significantly declining epidemics. 81 countries have not reported any cases, and 57 countries have reported 10 cases or less. We cannot say this loudly enough, or clearly enough, or often enough: all countries can still change the course of this pandemic,” WHO DG said.
The prognosis
WHO stressed that if countries detect, test, treat, isolate, trace, and mobilize their people in the response, those with a handful of cases can prevent those cases becoming clusters, and those clusters becoming community transmission.
“Even those countries with community transmission or large clusters can turn the tide on this virus. Several countries have demonstrated that this virus can be suppressed and controlled,” WHO DG said.
The global health body noted that the challenge for many countries who are now dealing with large clusters or community transmission is not whether they can do the same – it’s whether they will.
“Some countries are struggling with a lack of capacity. Some countries are struggling with a lack of resources. Some countries are struggling with a lack of resolve.”
While commending measures being taken in Iran, Italy and the Republic of Korea to slow the virus and control their epidemics, WHO 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 – so every sector and every individual must be involved in the fight. I have said from the beginning that countries must take a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach, built around a comprehensive strategy to prevent infections, save lives and minimize impact,” WHO DG said.