The ongoing coronavirus outbreak has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The designation means the virus has spread globally, but the leader of the health organization said countries can still turn the tide. "All countries can still change the course of this pandemic,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. More than 124,000 people around the world have been sick due to the virus and there have been more than 4,600 deaths.
Director General at World Health Organization
World Health Organization is deeply concerned by the alarming levels of the #coronavirus spread, severity and inaction, and expects to see the number of cases, deaths and affected countries climb even higher. Therefore, we made the assessment that #COVID19 can be characterized as a pandemic. 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 the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus. We cannot say this loudly enough, or clearly enough, or often enough: all countries can still change the course of this pandemic. This is the first pandemic that can be controlled. There’s been so much attention on one word. But these words matter much more: -Prevention -Preparedness -Public health -Political leadership -People We’re in this together, to do the right things with calm & protect the citizens of the world. It’s doable.
It is 5 weeks since I spoke about the COVID-19 situation in Singapore. So it is timely to update Singaporeans again on the medical, economic and psychological outlooks of the situation. Today, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. This means that while the situation in Singapore remains under control, the COVID-19 threat will be with us for a long time. We cannot be complacent. There are some baseline precautions we must get used to, like maintaining good personal hygiene and not holding large gatherings. We must also plan ahead in case a major outbreak happens here. If a major outbreak happens, we will need more stringent social distancing measures, such as suspending schools and compulsory telecommuting. These will slow down the rate of transmission and prevent our healthcare system from being overwhelmed. Already our economy has been seriously impacted, so we are working on a 2nd stimulus package to support businesses and workers. Singapore’s response to COVID-19 has been recognised by the international community. This is through the efforts of many Singaporeans, from the frontline staff to all of us keeping #SGclean. Thank you to all who are dealing with this calmly and responsibly. We must keep up our efforts, and remain #SGUnited.
“With the number of known #coronavirus cases today in South Korea, Italy, Iran, France, Spain, the US, Switzerland, Japan, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden and the UK... Wuhan was already in lockdown.” Read why every day we wait to make decisions is costlier that’s the previous:
The spread of the coronavirus across more than 100 countries now qualifies as a global pandemic, World Health Organization officials said on Wednesday, confirming what many epidemiologists have been saying for weeks. “All countries can still change the course of this pandemic,” said the W.H.O.’s leader, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, adding, “We need each other.”
?? BREAKING ?? "In the days and weeks ahead, we expect to see the number of #COVID19 cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries climb even higher. WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction. We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic"- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus #coronavirus
The World Health Organization and the World Economic Forum are launching an emergency task force in response to the global outbreak of #coronavirus. Here's what they plan on doing: #coronavirusupdates Business Insider
Media briefing on #COVID19 with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. #coronavirus