Published 22:31 IST, March 13th 2020
"Europe has now become the epicenter of the Coronavirus pandemic": WHO's big statement
Addressing a press briefing on Friday, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that Europe had become the new epicenter of COVID-19.
Addressing a press briefing on Friday, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that Europe had become the new epicenter of the novel coronavirus. To buttress this point, he highlighted that more cases were being reported every day in Europe than they were in China at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak. Moreover, he termed the spread of the pandemic resulting in 5000 deaths as a “tragic milestone”. On Wednesday, the WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak as 'pandemic'.
WHO advises nations to adopt a comprehensive approach
Dr. Tedros mentioned that the WHO had shipped supplies of personal protective equipment to 56 countries, which would be extended to 28 more nations. He advised the countries to take a comprehensive approach rather than focus on one particular aspect, whether it is contact tracing or social distancing. Furthermore, he contended that any country which looked at the experience of other countries with large epidemics and assumed “that it won’t happen to us” was making a deadly mistake.
Updated 22:31 IST, March 13th 2020