The World Health Organization has declared a coronavirus pandemic, warning that countries are not doing enough to stop the spread of disease around the globe.

The director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said “pandemic” was not a word to use carelessly or lightly, but 4,291 people had lost their lives and thousands more were fighting for for their lives in hospital.

“In the days and weeks ahead we expect to see the many cases, the many deaths and the number of affected countries climb even higher,” he said.

By reversing course and using the charged word “pandemic”, which it had previously shied away from, the UN health agency appeared to want to shock lethargic countries into pulling out all the stops.

“We have called every day for countries to take urgent and aggressive action. We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear,” Ghebreyesus said. “We are deeply concerned by both alarming levels of spread and severity and by alarming levels of inaction.”

He called on countries to stake urgent and aggressive action against the pandemic, insisting that the impact could still be controlled.

Source: The Guardian