German Health Minister Jens Spahn delivers a speech during a session of the German lower house of parliament in Berlin on March 4. Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images

German Health Minister Jens Spahn said today that "the coronavirus outbreak in China has become a global pandemic," while speaking to lawmakers at the German National Parliament

In Germany, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases has risen to 158.

What is an epidemic? An epidemic is more than a normal number cases of an illness, specific health-related behavior, or other health-related events in a community or region.

What is a pandemic? A pandemic is defined as the "worldwide spread" of a new disease.

But Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said earlier this month that there is no definitive scientific definition of what constitutes a pandemic.

He added that there could be arguments on either side as to whether the coronavirus outbreak could be described as a pandemic.