{"id":156263,"date":"2020-03-16T12:00:56","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T12:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=156263"},"modified":"2020-12-02T10:26:13","modified_gmt":"2020-12-02T10:26:13","slug":"five-things-you-should-know-now-about-the-covid-19-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2020\/03\/five-things-you-should-know-now-about-the-covid-19-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Things You Should Know Now about the COVID-19 Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"
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12 Mar 2020 – <\/span>On Wednesday [11 Mar], the World Health Organization (WHO) upgraded the status of the COVID-19 outbreak from epidemic to pandemic. Here are five important pieces of information on what this means for you and your community.\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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1) What\u2019s the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic?<\/h3>\n

Before Wednesday\u2019s WHO<\/a> announcement, the COVID-19\u00a0outbreak was described by the UN health agency as an epidemic, meaning that it has been spreading to many people, and many communities, at the same time.<\/p>\n

Labelling the spread a pandemic, indicates that it has officially spread around the world, and\u00a0is also\u00a0a reflection of the WHO’s concern at what it calls the \u201calarming levels of the coronavirus spread, severity and inaction\u201d, and the expectation that the number of cases, deaths and affected countries will continue to climb.<\/p>\n

2) Should I be now be more worried about COVID-19?<\/h3>\n
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A UN staff member sanitizes her hands at UN Headquarters in New York.<\/strong><\/div>\n
UN Photo\/Loey Felipe<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Calling COVID-19 a pandemic does not mean that it has become more deadly, it is an acknowledgement of its global spread.<\/p>\n

Tedros Adhananon Ghebreyesus, the head of WHO, said as much at a media briefing on Wednesday, when he insisted that the pandemic label does not change WHO\u2019s assessment of the threat posed by the virus: \u201cIt doesn\u2019t change what WHO is doing, and it doesn\u2019t change what countries should do\u201d.<\/p>\n

Tedros also called on the world not to fixate on the word \u201cpandemic\u201d, but to focus instead on five other words or phrases, beginning with \u201cp\u201d: Prevention, Preparedness, Public health, Political leadership and People.<\/p>\n

The WHO chief acknowledged that the COVID-19 spread is the first pandemic to be caused by a coronavirus (i.e. any of the large variety of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases).<\/p>\n

However, he also pointed out that all countries can still change the course of this pandemic, and that it is the first ever, that can actually be controlled.<\/p>\n

3) What should countries do?<\/h3>\n
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As the COVID-19 spreads in the United States, an increasing number of New Yorkers appear to have started wearing face masks as a precaution against the virus.<\/strong><\/div>\n
UN Photo\/Loey Felipe<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

WHO reiterated its call for countries to detect, test, treat, isolate, trace, and mobilize their citizens, to ensure that those with just a handful of cases can prevent wider spread throughout the community.<\/p>\n

Although some 118,000 cases have been reported, in 114 countries, more than 90 per cent of those cases are clustered in just four countries: China, Italy, South Korea and Iran.<\/p>\n

In two of those countries (China and South Korea) the numbers of new cases are, in the words of WHO, \u201csignificantly declining\u201d. 81 countries have yet to report any COVID-19 cases and, in 57 countries, there have been only 10 or fewer cases reported.<\/p>\n

However, there is still considerable concern that many countries are not acting quickly enough, or taking the urgent and aggressive action that the health agency says is required.<\/p>\n

Even before the pandemic announcement, WHO was advocating a whole-of-government approach to dealing with the crisis, on the basis that every sector, not just the health sector, is affected.<\/p>\n

Even countries in which the virus has spread throughout the community, or within large population clusters, can still turn the tide of the pandemic, said Tedros, adding that several nations have shown that the virus can be suppressed and controlled.<\/p>\n

4) What should I do?<\/h3>\n
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