Don’t panic ... it’s NOT a pandemic
That’s the verdict from WHO (even though its staff now wear face masks live on TV)
THE outbreak is not yet a pandemic – but it does have the potential to become one, World Health Organisation chiefs announced yesterday.
As Italy and South Korea saw the first major surge in cases outside China, the agency warned that its efforts to prevent the virus turning into a global epidemic were in the balance.
A pandemic is when an infectious disease spreads easily from person to person in many parts of the world.
The head of WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said at a news conference in Geneva that the spate of cases thousands of miles from China was ‘deeply concerning’.
But he insisted: ‘For the moment, we are not witnessing the uncontained global spread of this virus, and we are not witnessing large-scale severe disease or death.
‘Does this virus have pandemic potential? Absolutely. Are we there yet? From our assessment, not yet.’
Dr Ghebreyesus said using the word could cause unnecessary fear – but added: ‘We must focus on containment, while doing everything we can to prepare for a potential pandemic.’
WHO epidemiologist Dr Bruce Aylward was himself wearing a face mask during a briefing yesterday in Beijing.
Should WHO announce a pandemic, Health Secretary Matt Hancock could implement a pre-prepared plan setting out the likely problems.
Under the worst-case scenario with the UK facing widespread infections, it could mean hospitals cancelling non-emergency treatment and mortuaries being overwhelmed.
Professor John Ashton, a former regional director of public health in north-west England, said the WHO’s refusal to label the outbreak a pandemic was ‘splitting hairs’.
‘This is a novel virus affecting people throughout the world which requires a concerted global response – in my book, that’s a pandemic,’ he told the Daily Mail.
Dr Bharat Pankhania, from the University of Exeter Medical School, agreed, saying: ‘We now consider this to be a pandemic in all but name, and it’s only a matter of time before the World Health Organisation starts to use the term.’