WHO declares coronavirus a pandemic

(Patria) - The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. The novel coronavirus, which was unknown to global health officials just three months ago, has rapidly spread to more than 121,000 people across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and parts of the US. More than 4,000 people have died.

WHO officials have so far hesitated to classify the virus as a global pandemic, which is generally defined as a disease spreading widely across the world, CNBC reports.

"Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Declaring a pandemic leads to major political and economic consequences, according to global health experts. It could further dampen already fragile global markets and lead to stricter travel and trade restrictions.

"Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by the coronavirus. It does not change what WHO is doing, and it does not change what countries should be doing," he added.

The World Health Organization had to "clearly clarify" that the world is in the midst of a pandemic, said Lawrence Gostin, a professor and director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University. He added that there will continue to be confusion until they declare it.

"It is clear that the novel coronavirus is a pandemic," Gostin told CNBC.

A pandemic marks the spread of an infectious disease across wide geographical regions, on a continental or global scale.