WHO declares COVID-19 ‘a pandemic’; G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in U.S. to be held via teleconference

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak a pandemic.
Pandemic is an epidemic of disease that has spread across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or worldwide.
Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, during a media briefing on Wednesday, said that WHO has been assessing the outbreak and was deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread, severity, and levels of inaction.
“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.
“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.
“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,” he said.
According to him, WHO has been in full response mode since it was notified of the first cases, and have called every day for countries to take urgent and aggressive action.
“We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear.
“As I said on Monday, just looking at the number of COVID-19 cases and the number of countries affected does not tell the full story,
“In the past two weeks, the number of cases of COVID-19 outside China has increased 13-fold and the number of affected countries has tripled.
“There are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have lost their lives.
“Thousands more are fighting for their lives in hospitals,”he said.
Ghebreyesus warned that in the days and weeks ahead, WHO expect to see the number of COVID-19 cases, deaths,and affected countries climb even higher.
He advised all countries to strike a fine balance between protecting health, minimising economic and social disruption and respecting human rights.
“WHO’s mandate is public health. But we’re working with many partners across all sectors to mitigate the social and economic consequences of this COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is not just a public health crisis, it is a crisis that will touch every sector – so every sector and every individual must be involved in the fight,” he said
He stressed that countries must take a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach, built around a comprehensive strategy to prevent infections, save lives and minimize impact.
Meanwhile, the United States (U.S.) State Department announced on Wednesday that the U.S. has decided to host G7 Foreign Ministers meeting by teleconference instead of in-person gathering amid the coronavirus fears.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the U.S. has decided to host the upcoming G7 ministerial virtually by video teleconference instead of gathering in Pittsburgh, March 24-25,’’ the statement said.
As America scrambled to understand the scope of an escalating public health crisis, the number of known coronavirus cases surpassed 1,000 on Tuesday.
This signaling that the virus was spreading widely in communities on both coasts and in the centre of the country.
According to a New York Times database, at least 1,026 people in 38 states and Washington, D.C. have tested positive for coronavirus, and at least 31 patients with the virus have died.
The first known U.S. coronavirus case was announced on January 21 in Washington State, but the pace of diagnosis has quickened significantly in recent weeks.
In March, 70 cases had been reported in the U.S. most of them tied to overseas travel.
In Massachusetts, dozens of new cases were announced on Tuesday, and in South Dakota, the governor announced the state’s five first cases, including one man who died.
The number of states with no reported cases stands at about a dozen, declining by the day.
The number of patients treated in the U.S. remains a small fraction of those with the virus overseas, where thousands of people have died and thousands have been infected.
Health officials in California, Oregon, and Washington State have seen the virus turning up in people who have not traveled overseas and have warned that the virus was spreading within the local community.
Officials in some places have urged residents, especially older people, to avoid large gatherings.
Officials in Santa Clara County, Calif, where dozens have become ill with the virus and one person has died, announced a ban on large gatherings.
Leaders in the nursing home industry on Tuesday called on nursing homes and assisted living centres to curtail most social visits and even take steps to keep some employees away.