Pandemic, pandemic. There are no more doubts. Albeit with the appropriate caution, the World Health Organization (WHO) crosses the Rubicon and announces what the whole world hoped not to hear: “The Coronavirus is characterized as a pandemic: a new virus that is spreading throughout the world and against which the majority of men have no immunity, but we are not at its mercy and together we can beat it".
Faced with this reality WHO will now issue directives and send teams to the most affected countries such as China, Iran and Italy.
WHO had to take note of that Coronavirus is not an epidemic confined to some geographical area but it is now widespread all over the world, even if at different speeds. The data speak for themselves: the countries affected by the new epidemic are 114 out of a total of 193 and so far the Coronavirus has caused 118 infections and 4.200 victims, which are growing day by day, despite the fact that some of the people affected have survived and recovered.
The WHO Director-General said today, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: "We are deeply concerned about the spread and severity of the disease and the alarming level of inaction" of some countries and "for this reason we have decided that Covid-19 can be characterized as a pandemic". But be careful: “The word pandemic could suggest that we can no longer do anything to contain the virus but this is not true. We are engaged in a fight that can be won if we do the right things".
What prompted the WHO to break the delay was the growing spread of the virus no longer in a limited number of countries but in the whole of Europe and America, despite the fact that President Donald Trump has so far underestimated the alarm, even if in the last few hours he seems to be convinced of the danger of the situation and is evaluating the decision to ban air flights from the USA to Italy.
"We expect an increase in cases, deaths and affected countries” – added the WHO Director – “because this is not just a health crisis, it is a crisis that will affect every sector and that requires every individual to be involved in the fight”. WHO also appreciated Italy's efforts (“Your measures will serve as a lesson for us to tackle the epidemic in other countries as well”) and concluded by arguing that “we can all influence the trajectory of the epidemic. The rule of the game is never to give up."
