The World Health Organization declared the new coronavirus a pandemic on Wednesday as it has spread to more than 100 countries around the world.
WHO defines a pandemic as 'the spread of a new disease around the world'. The definition is based on the geographical spread of the disease, the severity of the diseases it causes, and its impact on society.
COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, has affected over 121,000 people and killed over 4,300.
“WHO is monitoring this outbreak around the clock, and we are deeply concerned about both alarming levels of prevalence and severity of the disease and alarming levels of inaction,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva.
“Pandemic is not a word to be used lightly or casually,” Tedros continued. “This is a word that, if misused, can cause unwarranted fear or unwarranted admission that the fight is over, leading to panic.”
Tedros and his colleagues stressed that all countries must 'redouble' and 'be more aggressive' in their approach to contain the disease and reduce its spread, including through the use of basic public health tools such as limiting contacts.
“If countries detect, test, process, isolate, track and mobilize their people in their response,” he said, “those with multiple cases can prevent these cases from becoming clusters and those clusters from community transmission.”
WHO says the pandemic is a characterization and a call to action, not a cause for panic.
The word 'pandemic' comes from the Greek 'pan' and 'demos' which means 'all people', but its use does not make much of a pragmatic difference in the fight against disease. The WHO has been hesitant to call this coronavirus outbreak a pandemic in recent weeks, fearing it would lead to widespread panic.
“If it were a flu epidemic, we would expect to see the population worldwide infected by now, and efforts to slow or contain it would not be feasible,” Tedros said last week. “But containing COVID-19 is possible and should remain a top priority for all countries.”
In January, WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a 'global health emergency', the highest level of alarm for the most serious, sudden, unexpected outbreaks that cross international borders and may require a coordinated response between countries.
This is the first time that a pandemic is used for a coronavirus. The last time an influenza pandemic occurred was in 2009.
In contrast, an epidemic refers to a more localized or regional outbreak rather than a global one.
There is no cure for COVID-19, although scientists at the National Institutes of Health in the United States have said that it will be possible to prepare for initial testing within a few months. (It will take over a year to get the vaccine to market.) The best preventive measure against coronavirus is thorough, regular hand washing.
If you have a mild COVID-19 illness, it is best to treat it like the flu: exercise a little, drink more fluids, and take medication to relieve symptoms. More serious cases may require hospitalization.
This article was published by Business Insider.
