Health

Coronavirus: World Currently ‘Not In A Pandemic’−WHO Reveals

Coronavirus: World Currently ‘Not In A Pandemic’−WHO Reveals

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that the outbreak of the deadly novel coronavirus, which has spread from China to two dozen countries, does not yet constitute a “pandemic”.

“Currently we are not in a pandemic,” Sylvie Briand, head of WHO’s Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness division, told reporters in Geneva.

Instead, she said, “we are at the phase where it is an epidemic with multiple foci.”

The disease has killed more than 425 people and infected a further 20,000 in China, nearly all of them in central Hubei province – the epicentre of the outbreak — and spread to two-dozen countries since it emerged in December.

Briand said that while there is a rapid spread of transmission in Hubei, outside the province there are mainly “spillover cases” with sporadic clusters of transmission.

“In these other places in China, the strategy currently is to stop transmission,” she said, adding that the same was true for affected countries outside of China.

“We would like to make sure that we don’t have a second Hubei type of scenario,” she said.

Read Also: Drama As Reps Reject Motion To Evacuate Nigerians In China

Authorities in China have taken dramatic measures to halt transmission, while other affected countries have put in place steps to rein in the spread.

Wearing mask ‘Not Enough’

“Countries are implementing early case detection, early isolation and treatment of patients, contact tracing to make sure they identify very early contacts that become symptomatic,” Briand pointed out.

“We hope that based on … measures in Hubei but also in other places where we have had spillover, we can stop transmission and get rid of this virus,” she said.

She acknowledged that halting the spread of the new pneumonia-like virus would be “challenging”.

“I am not saying it is easy, but … we believe that it can be done,” she said.

The respiratory disease spreads through droplets, for instance when people sneeze or cough, or likely through direct contact with infected people or with objects they have touched.

But Briand said it remained unclear how long the virus could linger on an object, stressing the need for frequent hand-washing to protect against transmission.

“To stop transmission of this virus, it is very important that sick people wear masks” to avoid infecting others, she said, adding though the benefits of healthy people wearing masks as a precautionary measure were less clear.

People wearing masks but not taking other precautions like frequently washing their hands could have a “false sense of security”, she said.

“Masks alone are not enough. It is a package of measures that you have to put in place,” she said.

“If people use the entire package, it is fine. If they just use masks, I think it is not enough.”

Recent Posts

BREAKING: NYSC Summons Corps Member Over Viral TikTok Video Criticizing Tinubu

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has summoned Ushie Rita Uguamaye, a corps member serving in Lagos State, following her… Read More

7 hours ago

Annie Idibia Reportedly Walks Out Of Rehab Amid Marriage Crisis With 2Baba

Nigerian actress Annie Idibia has reportedly left the rehabilitation center where she had sought refuge following the devastating collapse of… Read More

8 hours ago

“Asake my son has sorted my hospital bills and promised to buy me a house in Lagos Island” – Mr Odunsi, Confirms Reconciliation

Mr. Fatai Odunsi, father of popular Nigerian singer Asake, has revealed that the artist has promised to settle his hospital… Read More

8 hours ago

“I Supported Him Through School, spent all my money on him Only for Him to Leave Me” – Asake’s Babymama, Adijat Ajoke

Adijat Ajoke, the woman claiming to have an 11-year-old daughter, Zeenat, for Nigerian singer Ahmed Ololade, aka Asake, has finally… Read More

8 hours ago

Nigerian Medical Scientist Heartbroken as Fiancé Calls Off Wedding Over sudden ‘Genotype Change’

A Nigerian medical laboratory scientist, identified as Peace, has been left devastated after her fiancé abruptly canceled their wedding just… Read More

10 hours ago

“So, He Has a Wife and Children” – Beautiful Pictures of Actor Uzor Arukwe Family Surface Online

Nollywood actor Uzor Arukwe has been making waves with his standout performance in Omoni Oboli’s romantic drama, Love in Every… Read More

20 hours ago

This website uses cookies.