For rapidly spreading across the world, the World Health Organisation (WHO) thursday declared coronavirus, otherwise known as Covid-19, a pandemic, acknowledging that the virus might likely spread to all countries on the globe.
WHO Director-General, Mr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in Geneva that the situation would worsen.
And in Nigeria, where the index case occurred last month, the Lagos State Government has quarantined six more persons in its Infectious Disease Centre in Yaba.
It has also found the two missing Nigerians suspected of having close contact with the Italian index case during his flight from Istanbul to Lagos on February 27.
Ghebreyesus said WHO was expecting a spike in the number of cases, deaths and the number of affected countries.
As of yesterday, 114 countries have reported that 4,291 had died, with 118,000 contracting Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, known as SARS-CoV2.
In the United States, over 1,000 cases have been diagnosed and 29 people have died.
The virus causes mild respiratory infections in about 80 per cent of those infected, though about half will have pneumonia. Another 15 per cent develop severe illness and five per cent need critical care.
He stated: “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.
“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.”
While China appears on the verge of stopping its outbreak — it reported only 24 cases on Tuesday— outbreaks are occurring and growing in some locations around the world, including Italy, Iran and the US.
South Korea, which has reported nearly 8,000 cases, also appears poised to bring its outbreak under control with aggressive measures and widespread testing.
But other countries have struggled to follow the leads of China and South Korea, a reality that has frustrated WHO officials who have exhorted the world to do everything possible to end transmission of the virus.
“The bottom line is: We’re not at the mercy of the virus,” Tedros had said on Monday.
“The great advantage is that the decisions we all make as governments, businesses, communities, families and individuals can influence the trajectory of this epidemic.”
“The rule of the game is: Never give up,” he added.
The WHO has been criticised for not declaring the outbreak a pandemic sooner.
The Head of the agency’s Health Emergencies Programme, Mr. Mike Ryan, admitted in a press conference on Monday that the agency fears that countries may interpret a pandemic declaration as a sign that efforts to contain the virus have failed.
“For me, I’m not worried about the word. I’m more concerned about what the world’s reaction will be to that word. Will we use it as a call to action? Will we use it to fight? Or will we use it to give up?” Ryan asked.
