During a news conference, World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom announced early today that it has officially labeled the latest coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) as a pandemic. This, Adhanom said, "is the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus."
Up to this date, the outbreak of COVID-19 that has struck the United States, Italy, China and over a hundred other nations, killing over 4,000 affected individuals had been called "a public health emergency" of worldwide concern.
The difference is centered on how widespread the virus has become. On its website, WHO stated that an influenza pandemic takes place when "a new influenza virus develops and spreads globally, and the majority of the public do not have the immunity.
Also, according to the organization, Viruses that have led to previous pandemics usually originally came from animal influenza viruses.
Why COVID-19 is Now Classified as a Pandemic
Adhanom said, the word pandemic is not to be used lightly, nor use it carelessly. It is a word, he added, that if misused, it can lead to unreasonable fear or It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or baseless acceptance that the battle is over, resulting in "unnecessary suffering and death."
Despite the alarming declaration, the WHO official said, "We're all in this together to do the right things" calmly, and protect all the people in the world. Adhanom also recalled that the last pandemic declared was in 2009 during the swine flu outbreak, caused by the H1N1 virus.
That pandemic, he shared, which was originally detected in Mexico, killed approximately 200,000 people, hitting children and young adults hardest.
This time, the COVID-19 pandemic is killing mostly elderly who have underlying health conditions. As of yesterday, there are over 120,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in 114 countries, killing 4,373 individuals. This, WHO said, is a call to action, not to mention, a plea for all nations to not to give up even if the number of cases increase dramatically.
Practically, Adhanom elaborated, "countries are being told" to keep doing what they have been advised to act upon. Meaning, some nations may have to step up or advance their response.
However, WHO hasn't changed what it's been doing, or the level of threat the virus brings.
Essentially, what the term 'pandemic' highlights, according to the director-general, is the vitality of the nations all over the world, taking immediate action in response to their own outbreaks since now, it is all people's responsibility "to turn the tide on coronavirus."
What's Currently Going on in Iran and Italy?
In Iran, according to Michael Ryan, WHO's emergencies head, the country has closed gyms, nightclubs, schools and other venues across the nation, already.
To date, Dr. Ryan added, it has over 12,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, "and a death toll of 827." Meanwhile, in Italy, almost 900 individuals with the virus were under intensive care.
The Emergencies head said, Iran's situation, from which, official figures reached 354 deaths from the 9,000 cases, was undoubtedly serious.
As part of its initiative to mitigate the coronavirus outbreak, the WHO sent around 40,000 testing kits to Iran. But despite the number, there were still reports of a shortage of oxygen and ventilators. Iran and Italy, Dr. Ryan elaborated, are currently suffering," and he guaranteed, too, that other countries are likely to be in the same situation real soon.
