Trump bans all flights from Europe to U.S. — except from U.K.
WORLD HEALTH BODY CITES ‘ALARMING’ INACTION, VIRUS SPREAD; TRUMP IMPOSES PARTIAL TRAVEL BAN FROM EUROPE
The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared coronavirus a pandemic, signalling that health experts believe efforts should be focused less on containing the virus and more on stockpiling materials, getting hospitals ready to handle an influx of patients and enacting social distancing policies.
“We are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
The declaration came as the number of novel coronavirus cases surpassed 120,000 worldwide.
U.S. President Donald Trump responded to the news late Wednesday, announcing a ban on most travellers from Europe to the U.S. for the next 30 days.
The WHO’s announcement does not trigger any new funding, protocols or regulations. But it is an acknowledgment of reality.
For weeks now, the WHO has hesitated to make the declaration because there is little upside, and it could create widespread panic.
“It may cause fear,” Tedros said at a briefing earlier this month.
But Wednesday, Tedros noted the scale of the outbreak. “There are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have lost their lives,” he said.
“In the days and weeks ahead, we expect to see the number of coronavirus cases, the number of deaths and the number of affected countries to climb even higher.”
Tedros cautioned that “pandemic” is not a word to be used lightly or carelessly — that if misused, it can cause unreasonable fear or spur resignation that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death. But he said he decided to use it because some countries did not act with enough speed or diligence.
In the past, health experts have used “pandemic” as a signal that efforts to contain an outbreak have failed and that countries should focus their efforts more on mitigating its effects through actions such as getting hospitals ready to handle an influx of patients, stockpiling materials and enacting social-distancing policies.
This outbreak has behaved differently, however, and the WHO has stressed in recent weeks that some countries should focus on containment even as they begin ramping up mitigation efforts.
By working to contain the virus, countries with only a few cases can slow down the spread and buy time to work more on mitigation strategies, Tedros said.
While China brought its outbreak under control and normalcy is returning, the number of cases outside China rose 13-fold in the past two weeks, and the number of countries affected tripled, with Iran and Italy the worst-hit countries in the Middle East and Europe. There have been 354 deaths in Iran and 827 in Italy.
“Italy and Iran are in the front line and are suffering but other countries will be in that situation very soon,” said Ghebreyesus.
Dr. Mike Ryan, the head of the WHO’s emergencies program, said there was “a strong element of controllability” and “a real chance to blunt the curve ... and reduce the number of cases.”
Mark Woolhouse, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at Britain’s Edinburgh University, added: “It is now clear that COVID-19 is going to be with us for a considerable length of time and the actions that we take must be actions that we can live with for a prolonged period.”
The worst is yet to come with the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said.
Fauci told lawmakers at a congressional hearing on the Trump administration’s response to the spreading virus that with enough cases of community spread, where the origin is unclear, the situation becomes one “where you’re not going to be able to effectively and efficiently contain it.”
“The blended and comprehended approach should continue … it would be a mistake to abandon the containment strategy,” he said.
Meanwhile, Trump announced travel restrictions late Wednesday that ban most foreign nationals who have travelled to Schengen Area countries in Europe during the previous 14 days from entering the U.S., the Homeland Security Department said. That includes Germany, the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Italy, but not the U.K. or Ireland.
The restrictions, meant to combat the spread of the coronavirus, does not apply to legal permanent residents of the United States, nor does it generally apply to immediate family members of American citizens. They will go into effect Friday at midnight, Trump said Wednesday in an Oval Office address.
As Trump spoke, companies and public officials across the country were taking actions to deal with the rapid spread of the virus. The NBA suspended games until further notice, Twitter directed employees to work from home and governors and mayors restricted large gatherings.
Following the remarks, the White House announced that Trump was cancelling travel to Colorado and Nevada scheduled for this week.
The S&P 500 closed Wednesday 19% lower than its February high, with every industry down at least 3.9% on the day.