WHO: Spread of the coronavirus outside China did not lead to a pandemic, but to an epidemic

The spread of the coronavirus outside China did not lead to a pandemic, but to an epidemic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It is not yet clear whether the spread of the coronavirus, which has caused large outbreaks in several countries, could be stopped, added the WHO.

The infection has started in China, where it has reached its peak, and the number of new cases in the Asian country is declining.

A pandemic means widespread of the virus across many continents, the WHO explained.

“We are encouraged by the continuing decline in (new) cases in China”, said the Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom. “The key message that should give all parties hope, courage and confidence is that this virus can be controlled”, added he.

A team of international experts, led by the World Health Organization, who was in China last week, concluded that the epidemic had reached its peak between January 23 and February 2, and since then the number of infected people has been steadily declining. The team found that “measures taken in China have prevented a significant number of new cases” of the infection, said the WHO chief, without specifying which measures were involved.

Tedros Adhanom also described the outbreaks that have emerged in recent days in Italy, Iran and South Korea as “very disturbing”.

There are currently 79,446 confirmed cases of infection in 28 countries of Covid-19, a disease caused by a coronavirus. The death toll of the virus reached 2,641 people.

Some infectious disease specialists believe that it will now be impossible to stop the worldwide spread of the respiratory virus, given that it is easily spread to people without immediately catching its symptoms.

The WHO did not confirm this.

“We are still likely to be able to control the virus and interrupt its spread”, said Michael Ryan, the chief of health emergencies at the WHO. “But the virus can become an endemic transmission model, a seasonal pattern, or it can accelerate to a full-blown global pandemic. At this point, it is not possible to say which of these options will happen”, added he.

The WHO bases its assessment on whether a disease will grow into a pandemic because of its geographical spread, the severity of the disease and its impact on society.