World Health Organization declares COVID-19 a pandemic as cases surge
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization – Copyright Associated Press
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has declared the COVID-19 virus a pandemic and urged countries across the world to find, isolate, test and treat every case.
“We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear,” he said, noting that there were now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, with 4,291 deaths reported.”Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It’s a word that if misused can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over,” Dr Tedros said at a press conference in Switzerland.The declaration “doesn’t change what countries should do” to aggressively contain the virus, he said, adding that the UN health agency was “deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity”.”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 minimise impact,” Dr Tedros said.”All countries must strike a fine balance between protecting health, minimizing economic and social disruption and respecting human rights.”
WHO’s emergencies chief gave a further blunt warning about the state of the emergency. “Iran and Italy are in the frontline now. They’re suffering, but I guarantee you other countries will be in that situation soon,” Dr Mike Ryan said.
With a staggering 487 new coronavirus cases announced on Wednesday, Spain has now overtaken France in having the second-highest number of infections in Europe, behind Italy.Confirmed infections in Spain rose to more than 2,100 on Wednesday, with the number of deaths put at 49. More than half the fatalities have been in Madrid and the surrounding area. Spain’s health ministry estimated that in a worst case scenario the epidemic could last four or five months.The number of deaths from coronavirus in Italy rose by nearly 200 in a day, to a total of 827, according to the country’s Civil Protection Department. Confirmed coronavirus cases went up by more than 2,000 to 12,462.Italian officials attributed the one-day increase to the heavily impacted Lombardy region not fully reporting its numbers on Tuesday.The new figures came as Germany’s Angela Merkel warned that up to 70% of the German population could be infected with COVID-19.Merkel said most of the German population could be infected with coronavirus, based on current estimates of the spread and the lack of a vaccine.However, she appeared to criticise Austria’s decision to ban arrivals from Italy for anyone who isn’t certified free of COVID-19, saying that shutting borders was an “inappropriate response.””We should not be trying to isolate ourselves,” she said.Slovenia has also closed its border with Italy, which France’s President Emmanuel Macron said was “a bad decision.”In other latest coronavirus developments:
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Hungary announces state of emergency
-
UK finance minister unveils €13.7 billion stimulus to fight coronavirus downturn
-
Turkey confirms its first case
-
Ukraine and Poland shut schools and universities for two weeks
-
Madrid metro urges elderly and sick to avoid public transport
-
British health authorities unveil interactive source of data on coronavirus infections
-
France’s Macron will make a ‘short’ TV address on Thursday evening
-
The next round of post-Brexit talks in London on March 30 could be postponed because of health concerns
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UK health minister Nadine Dorries, and Ana Pastor Julián, a vice president of Spain’s Congress, are among Europe’s latest politicians to have contracted the virus.
Markets tumbleThe WHO’s declaration of the coronavirus as a pandemic sent markets tumbling. As US stocks plunged, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by over 1,000 points or 4.7% by early afternoon in New York.However, another reason for wild swings on Wall Street this week is the lack of a formal plan from the Trump administration to shore up the economy in the face of the threat from the virus.US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told a Congressional subcommittee on Wednesday that the administration was looking to help business including airlines and others in the travel industry.Watch the full news conference from Geneva as the WHO declares the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic:
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World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has declared the COVID-19 virus a pandemic and urged countries across the world to find, isolate, test and treat every case.
“We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear,” he said, noting that there were now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, with 4,291 deaths reported.
“Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It’s a word that if misused can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over,” Dr Tedros said at a press conference in Switzerland.
The declaration “doesn’t change what countries should do” to aggressively contain the virus, he said, adding that the UN health agency was “deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity”.
“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 minimise impact,” Dr Tedros said.
“All countries must strike a fine balance between protecting health, minimizing economic and social disruption and respecting human rights.”
Spain’s cases soar
WHO’s emergencies chief gave a further blunt warning about the state of the emergency. “Iran and Italy are in the frontline now. They’re suffering, but I guarantee you other countries will be in that situation soon,” Dr Mike Ryan said.
With a staggering 487 new coronavirus cases announced on Wednesday, Spain has now overtaken France in having the second-highest number of infections in Europe, behind Italy.
Confirmed infections in Spain rose to more than 2,100 on Wednesday, with the number of deaths put at 49. More than half the fatalities have been in Madrid and the surrounding area. Spain’s health ministry estimated that in a worst case scenario the epidemic could last four or five months.
The number of deaths from coronavirus in Italy rose by nearly 200 in a day, to a total of 827, according to the country’s Civil Protection Department. Confirmed coronavirus cases went up by more than 2,000 to 12,462.
Italian officials attributed the one-day increase to the heavily impacted Lombardy region not fully reporting its numbers on Tuesday.
The new figures came as Germany’s Angela Merkel warned that up to 70% of the German population could be infected with COVID-19.
Merkel said most of the German population could be infected with coronavirus, based on current estimates of the spread and the lack of a vaccine.
However, she appeared to criticise Austria’s decision to ban arrivals from Italy for anyone who isn’t certified free of COVID-19, saying that shutting borders was an “inappropriate response.”
“We should not be trying to isolate ourselves,” she said.
Slovenia has also closed its border with Italy, which France’s President Emmanuel Macron said was “a bad decision.”
In other latest coronavirus developments:
-
Hungary announces state of emergency
-
UK finance minister unveils €13.7 billion stimulus to fight coronavirus downturn
-
Turkey confirms its first case
-
Ukraine and Poland shut schools and universities for two weeks
-
Madrid metro urges elderly and sick to avoid public transport
-
British health authorities unveil interactive source of data on coronavirus infections
-
France’s Macron will make a ‘short’ TV address on Thursday evening
-
The next round of post-Brexit talks in London on March 30 could be postponed because of health concerns
-
UK health minister Nadine Dorries, and Ana Pastor Julián, a vice president of Spain’s Congress, are among Europe’s latest politicians to have contracted the virus.