World Health Organization declares COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic

The World Health Organization said Wednesday it now considers the spread of coronavirus to be a global pandemic, raising the stakes around the mysterious pathogen that’s spread to over 100 countries.

WHO, the public health arm of the U.N., cited the outbreak’s “alarming levels of spread” and “alarming levels of inaction” in determining the virus has a global impact and is not a regional epidemic.

WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said the label is not one he uses carelessly. He said leaders cannot “give any ground” in fighting COVID-19, a disease that has struck every continent except for Antarctica.

“We cannot say this loudly enough or clearly enough or often enough,” he said. “All countries can still change the course of this pandemic.”

“We have never before seen a pandemic sparked by a coronavirus, and we have never before seen a pandemic that can be controlled at the same time,” Mr. Tedros added.

WHO has not declared a pandemic since 2009, when it used the label to describe a new strain of H1N1 influenza.

In a way, the pandemic label is more of a descriptive term than one with a practical effect. It denotes “the worldwide spread of a new disease” that affects a large number of people.

The virus, which caused a disease called COVID-19, has spread to 114 countries and killed over 4,300 people. However, over 90% of the cases are in four countries and two of those, China and South Korea, are seeing a decline in new cases.

“Even those countries with community transmission or large clusters can turn the tide on this coronavirus,” Mr. Tedros said. “Several countries have demonstrated that this virus can be suppressed and controlled.”

The new coronavirus was discovered in Wuhan, China, in December, although the brunt of the epidemic has shifted to places like Italy and Iran, which have restricted public movements to try and disrupt the virus’s spread.

The U.S. is concerned about its rising case count — one that will likely balloon as testing capacity improves.

So far, it has recorded just over 1,000 infections and nearly 30 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the direction of the trajectory of the U.S. outbreak will depend on two things: America’s ability to keep infected travelers out, and its ability to tamp down spread within its own communities.

“Bottom line, it’s going to get worse,” he told the House Oversight Committee.

Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said besides person-to-person spread in select U.S. communities, cases are pouring in from Europe.

“That’s where the cases are coming in for us,” he said. “So in a way, if you just want to be blunt, Europe is the new China.”

Mr. Trump has decided to ban travelers who’ve been to China or Iran within the past 14 days.

Passengers from South Korea and Italy haven’t been banned but must be screened for health issues before and after flying to the U.S.