The World Health Organization just declared the novel coronavirus outbreak to be a pandemic.
The novel coronavirus outbreak is the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday.
“In the past two weeks, the number of cases of coronavirus 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,” WHO Director-General noted.
"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"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 11, 2020
“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,” he added.
The specific criteria for a pandemic are not universally defined, but there are three general criteria: a virus that can cause illness or death; sustained person-to-person transmission of that virus; and evidence of spread throughout the world.
Italy has banned funerals
As part of nationwide quarantine measures, Italy has issued a ban on all public gatherings — including weddings and funerals.
But at least one group of mourners in Rome got around the restrictions by parking a hearse outside a church and having a priest come outside to give a blessing over the coffin as it sat inside.
Italians are finding ways of living under the national lockdown: Some people seen having their hair cut on the streets to circumvent the rule against booking new appointments to avoid packing people too close together.
Stores have been limiting the number of people allowed to enter, while bars and restaurants have been keeping tables apart and using tape to mark one-meter (three-foot) gaps between people.
"In the past two weeks, the number of cases of #COVID19 outside ?? has increased 13-fold & the number of affected countries has tripled.
There are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, & 4,291 people have lost their lives"-@DrTedros #coronavirus
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 11, 2020
