WHO declares coronavirus crisis a pandemic

THE World Health Organisation has declared the global coronavirus crisis a pandemic but also said it is 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.

“We have called every day for countries to take urgent and aggressive action. We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO chief.

“All countries can still change the course of this pandemic. If countries detect, test, treat, isolate, trace and mobilise their people in the response,” he said. “We are deeply concerned by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction.”

The WHO added that Iran and Italy are the new front lines of the battle against the virus that started in China.

“They’re suffering but I guarantee you other countries will be in that situation soon,” said Dr Mike Ryan, the WHO’s emergencies chief.

Italian premier Giuseppe Conte thanked the public for cooperating with the already unprecedented travel and social restrictions that took effect on Tuesday.

But he said last night that Italy must “go another step” by closing all shops and businesses except for food stores, pharmacies and other shops selling “essential” items.

The tighter restrictions on daily life are the government’s latest effort to respond to the fast-moving crisis that took Italy’s number of cases from three to 12,462 in less than three weeks.

Iran reported another jump in deaths, by 62 to 354 – behind only China and Italy.