Corona outbreak a pandemic, but it’s not too late: WHO

ROME: Expressing alarm both about mounting infections and slow government responses, the WHO declared on Wednesday that the global coronavirus crisis is now a pandemic but said it’s not too late for countries to act.

By reversing course and using the charged word “pandemic” that it had previously shied away from, the UN health agency appeared to want to shock lethargic countries into pulling out all the stops. “All countries can still change the course of this pandemic,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO chief.

WASHINGTON:Boeing and Airbus, which until recently couldn’t make planes fast enough to satisfy airlines, are suddenly contending with the opposite risk: churning out jets with no buyers.

Demand for new aircraft is drying up as customers wary of the coronavirus shun air travel, ending the longest boom in aviation history. That 16-year surge began as airlines emerged from another infectious disease crisis, the one related to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS. Now the new virus points to leaner times.

In less than a month, the tumult has clipped about $175 billion in market value from the U.S. aerospace industry, a critical source of American exports. And the future looks just as grim. Passenger revenues could drop as much as $113 billion this year if the virus spreads extensively, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the largest global airline trade group.

“It will get worse before it gets better,” said Domhnal Slattery, chief executive officer of Avolon, the third-largest global aircraft leasing company. Boeing and Airbus were rolling in cash while airlines went on a $1.15tn buying binge since 2008.