Coronavirus crisis declared pandemic by WHO

The World Health Organisation has declared that the global coronavirus crisis is now a pandemic.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who heads the UN agency, said the WHO is “deeply concerned by the alarming levels of spread and severity” of the outbreak.

He also expressed concern about “the alarming levels of inaction”.

“We have, therefore, made the assessment that Covid-19 can be characterised as a pandemic,” he said at a briefing in Geneva.

"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"-@DrTedros #COVID19

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 11, 2020

“All countries can still change the course of this pandemic. If countries detect, test, treat, isolate, trace and mobilise their people in the response,” Mr Tedros said.