03/11/2020 - 13:39
- Clarín.com
- World
Finally, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the new coronavirus as a pandemic due to "alarming levels of spread and severity." This was confirmed by the general director of the agency, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
"WHO has been evaluating this outbreak throughout the day and we are deeply concerned with both the alarming levels of propagation and severity, and the alarming levels of inaction. Therefore, we have conducted the assessment that COVID19 can be characterized as a pandemic, "he said during a press conference.
Tedros clarified that declaring the disease a pandemic "does not change WHO's assessment of the threat posed by this coronavirus or what it is doing," and that it should not change "what countries should do."
"Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if used incorrectly , can cause unreasonable fear or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death," he warned.
The head of the WHO gave a bleak picture of the global situation: "We have never seen a pandemic caused by a coronavirus before and we have never seen a pandemic that can be controlled at the same time."
As Tedros confirmed, in recent weeks the cases of coronavirus multiplied by 13, and the number of countries with the presence of the disease tripled. "Now there are more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have lost their lives," he said.
What is Coronavirus? How is it spread and how are its symptoms?
Look at the specialNews in development.
JPE