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"We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic," he told the media briefing on COVID-19 on Wednesday, according to WHO official website.
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, he said.
Of the 118,000 cases reported globally in 114 countries, more than 90 percent of cases are in just four countries, and two of those-- China and the Republic of Korea--have significantly declining epidemics, Adhanom noted.
If countries detect, test, treat, isolate, trace, and mobilize their people in the response, those with a handful of cases can prevent those cases becoming clusters, and those clusters becoming community transmission, he said, noting that even those countries with community transmission or large clusters can turn the tide on this virus.
Several countries have demonstrated that this virus can be suppressed and controlled, he said.
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