The World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom has issued a warning to the international community that most countries need to brace for a “potential pandemic” caused by the coronavirus.
Tedros emphasized that the virus could still be contained. He added that in China, the virus has actually been on the declining since it peaked January, thanks in no small part to the Chinese government’s policy of sealing off entire cities and putting whole populations under a blanket quarantine.
“For the moment. we are not seeing an uncontained global spread of the coronavirus and we are not witnessing large-scale deaths,” Tedros said. “But we see are epidemics in different parts of the world that are affecting countries in different ways and requiring a more case-by-case tailored response.
New cases and a series of fatalities caused by the coronavirus outbreak, and outside China, have experienced a major spike during the second half of February. In Iran, at least 50 people have died from the virus in the Shi’a holy city of Qom. That number was earlier disputed by the Islamic Republic but was later revised after an official from Iran’s health ministry tested positive for the virus. Several towns in Northern Italy are under lockdown after the country saw a sudden spike in infections and deaths.
“The virus can be contained, but if some fail, if some do not do everything that is needed, this can become out of control and the consequences for the world’s health and the global economy would be dramatic,” UN Chief Antonio Guterres said.