Workers wearing protective gears spray disinfectant as a precaution against coronavirus at a subway ... [+]
Topline: The World Health Organization declined to call the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic Friday, but raised the global risk level for the disease from ‘high’ to ‘very high,’ reflecting ongoing serious concerns as more countries report their first cases and markets tank.
- “If this was influenza, we would have called [coronavirus] a pandemic by now,” said WHO Executive Director William J. Ryan in a Friday press conference.
- According to Ryan, using the word pandemic “may be attractive to describe” the coronavirus outbreak, but “if we’re saying there’s a pandemic, we’re saying every human will be exposed.”
- WHO’s decision to raise the global risk from “high” to “very high” was made due to an increase in the number of cases, as well as countries reporting new cases.
- Ryan said WHO now has evidence that the course of coronavirus epidemics can be altered by containment measures and a “robust public health response,” and calling a disease a pandemic “is unhelpful when you’re still trying to contain a disease.”
- “Other countries have shown they can contain” coronavirus, said Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director-general, “but the global risk is very high.”
- Ghebreyesus said the risk level was raised due to the spread and impact of coronavirus, and that it’s not intended to scare or alarm people, but to get governments to prepare.
Crucial quote: “[A country’s] first imported case is in your control to contain. It’s not much of an excuse to get caught unawares—we’ve been dealing with this virus for two months,” said Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director-general. “This is a ‘wake up and get ready’ message for governments. You have a duty to your citizens and the world.”
Big number: 83,000. That’s the number of reported cases from 53 countries as of Friday, according to the New York Times. Over 2,800 people have died.
Key background: WHO’s Friday press conference comes on the heels of a stock market bloodbath, as spooked investors react to a surge in coronavirus cases worldwide. The coronavirus outbreak, which began in Wuhan, China, has accelerated since its emergence in December 2019 to become a global issue. Earlier this week Ghebreyesus said the pneumonia-like illness has pandemic potential as it continued to spread to new countries. WHO designated coronavirus a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ on January 30, 2020.
