March 11, 2020
by Stephen Ryan
The World Health Organization has said that the spread of Covid-19 around the world has reached the stage where it can be described as a pandemic.
At Wednesday’s daily briefing WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, revealed that there are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have lost their lives.
“Pandemic is 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 director-general said.
“Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by this coronavirus. It doesn’t change what WHO is doing, and it doesn’t change what countries should do.”
