The World Health Organization warned Monday “the threat of a pandemic has become very real,” but stressed the virus could still be controlled. The WHO defines a pandemic as a situation in which “the whole world’s population would likely be exposed to this infection and potentially a proportion of them fall sick,” Michael Ryan, who heads the WHO’s emergencies programme, has said.
Infections worldwide have passed 110,000.
But he stressed, “even if we call it a pandemic, still we can contain it and control it.
“It would be the first pandemic in history that can be controlled,” he said. “We are not at the mercy of the virus.”
He pointed out that the situation varied widely in the 100-odd countries that have so far registered cases, with 93% of all cases being located in just four countries.
“Whether it is pandemic or not, the rule of the game is the same: never give up,” he said.
He said 79 countries had registered fewer than 100 cases, and more than half of those had seen fewer than 10 infections.
At the same time, in China, where more than 80,000 cases have been recorded since the outbreak began there in December, the country appears to be “bringing the epidemic under control,” Tedros said.
“More than 70% have recovered and have been discharged,” he pointed out.
Since the novel coronavirus first emerged, 113,582 cases have been recorded across 100 countries, killing 3,996 people, according to Johns Hopkins.
