Coronavirus outbreak officially reaches "pandemic level"

The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus a “pandemic.” In the past two weeks, the number of cases outside China has increased 13-fold and the number of countries affected has tripled.

On Wednesday evening, March 11, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, announced that the global spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has reached pandemic level, meaning a "large-scale epidemic."

Stating that the organization under his leadership has been monitoring the spread of the virus around the clock, he said: "We are deeply concerned about the alarming rate of the virus' spread, the seriousness of the situation, and the inaction in combating this virus."

Adhanom predicted that the number of patients would increase in the coming days and weeks.

Outbreak in 115 countries

The head of the World Health Organization noted that the number of cases of Covid-19 (the disease caused by the coronavirus) outside China has increased 13-fold in the past two weeks. The number of countries affected by the disease has tripled.

According to the Ethiopian official, more than 118,000 cases have been recorded in 115 countries. As of Wednesday, 4,291 people have died from the disease.

Adhanom stressed that all countries can still turn the tide of the pandemic. "Find, isolate, test, treat," he said.

He also stressed that classifying the disease as a "pandemic" would not affect the assessment of the threat posed by the virus.

There are no specific criteria from the World Health Organization for classifying a disease as a "global pandemic."

This title is typically used for diseases that spread unchecked across multiple continents.

Source: DW