Is Coronavirus a Pandemic?

The year of frightening surprises, 2020.

On the 11th of March, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that the Coronavirus outbreak has become a pandemic.

That’s a very big and scary word. The body itself emphasized that it isn’t a word to be used ‘lightly or carelessly’.

Before we start hyperventilating and running for the moon, let’s establish what a pandemic really is.

What Is A Pandemic?

According to the top guys in this case (the WHO), a pandemic is simply the worldwide spread of disease.

Wikipedia says; A pandemic (from Greek πᾶν pan “all” and δῆμος demos “people”) is a disease epidemic that has spread across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or worldwide.

WHO, through its Director General, went further to emphasize the seriousness of such a declaration. He says “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.”

Apart from being a global disease outbreak, there is yet another criterion that defines a pandemic. A pandemic must also be infectious or contagious. This is why cancer is not a pandemic even though thousands of people die from the disease every year. Cancer cannot be transferred through contact or bacteria.

Now that we’ve established that, let’s have a look at the history of pandemics in the world as we see it today.

If we look through our medical history as a planet, we would discover that planet earth has suffered from several pandemics over the years. Some of these diseases have killed significantly larger groups of people than some others.

One of the worst pandemics the world has ever experienced recorded 75-200 million deaths in the 14th century only. It was called many gruesome, scary names. But the most popular names were the Black Death or the Great Plague. It is said to have wiped out 30 to 60 percent of Europe’s population.

At some points, smallpox and tuberculosis were also declared pandemics. AIDS is yet another pandemic that claims thousands of lives yearly, especially in the eastern and southern Africa regions. Then there was influenza (Spanish flu) too.

What all these pandemics have in common is death. Great death. This is why it is not a word to be used carelessly.

Why has WHO Declared COVID-19 a Pandemic?

The World Health Organisation will not raise an alarm unless there’s a fire. The first outbreak of the virus was recorded on the 31st of December, 2019 in Wuhan, China.

From that time till now, barely three months later, WHO’s latest situation report has reported 4,292 deaths with 118,326 confirmed cases.

This global death toll has so far covered countries in almost all the continents.

An accurate list of countries that have confirmed cases of this virus has been given by Aljazeera. Take your time, it’s a long list.

Afghanistan – 7
Albania – 15 cases, 1 death
Algeria – 24 cases, 1 death
Andorra – 1
Argentina – 19 cases, 1 death
Armenia – 4
Australia – 128 cases, 3 deaths
Austria – 302 cases, 1 death
Azerbaijan – 11
Bahrain – 195
Bangladesh – 3
Belarus – 12
Belgium – 314 cases, 3 deaths
Bhutan – 1
Bolivia – 2
Bosnia & Herzegovina – 11
Brazil – 52
Brunei – 11
Bulgaria – 7 cases, 1 death
Burkina Faso – 2
Cambodia – 5
Cameroon – 2
Canada – 117 cases, 1 death
Chile – 23
China – 80,932 cases, 3,172 deaths

(The region of Macau has confirmed 10 cases, while Hong Kong reported 126 confirmed cases, including three deaths.)

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Colombia – 9
Costa Rica – 22
Croatia – 19
Cuba – 3
Cyprus – 6
Czech Republic – 94
Democratic Republic of Congo – 1
Denmark – 617
Dominican Republic – 5
Ecuador – 17
Egypt – 67 cases, 1 death
Estonia – 16
Finland – 59
France – 2,284 cases, 48 deaths

(The French territory of Martinique recorded 3 separate cases of the coronavirus. Reunion has one confirmed case.)

French Guiana – 5
Georgia – 24
Germany – 2,078 cases, 3 deaths
Greece – 99 cases, 1 death
Guyana- 1
Honduras – 2
Hong Kong – 126 cases, 3 deaths
Hungary – 13
Iceland – 85
India – 73
Indonesia – 34 cases, 1 death
Iran – 10,075 cases, 429 deaths
Iraq – 71 cases, 4 deaths
Ireland – 43
Israel – 127
Italy – 12,462 cases, 827 deaths
Ivory Coast – 1
Jamaica – 2
Japan – 1,337 cases, 23 deaths

(A total of 696 people on the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama had tested positive for the virus. Seven people who were on the ship have died.)

Japan does not include the people on board as part of its national tally, in accordance with WHO guidance. The national tally is 641 as of March 12, including 14 evacuees from China and 16 deaths.

A total of 475 people had recovered and left hospitals by Wednesday.
Jordan – 1
Kuwait – 80
Latvia – 10
Lebanon – 61 cases, 2 deaths
Liechtenstein – 1
Lithuania – 3
Luxembourg – 19
Malaysia – 149
Maldives – 8
Malta – 6
Mexico – 12
Moldova – 3
Monaco – 1
Mongolia – 1
Morocco – 6 cases, 1 death
Nepal – 1
Netherlands – 503 cases, 5 deaths
New Zealand – 5
Nigeria – 2
North Macedonia – 7
Norway – 632
Oman – 18
Pakistan – 20
Palestine – 29
Panama – 11
Paraguay – 5
Peru – 15
Philippines – 52 cases, 2 death
Poland – 47 cases, 1 death
Portugal – 59
Qatar – 262
Romania – 49
Russia – 28
San Marino – 69 cases, 3 death
Saudi Arabia – 45
Senegal – 4
Serbia – 19
Singapore – 178
Slovakia – 10
Slovenia – 57
South Africa – 17
South Korea – 7,869 cases, 66 deaths
Spain – 2,968 cases, 84 deaths
Sri Lanka – 2
Sweden – 500 cases, 1 death
Switzerland – 652 cases, 4 deaths
Taiwan – 49 cases, 1 death
Thailand – 70 cases, 1 death
Togo- 1
Tunisia – 7
Turkey – 1
Ukraine – 1
United Arab Emirates – 74
United Kingdom – 590 cases, including 1 in Gibraltar, 8 deaths
United States – 1,321 cases, 38 deaths
The cases in the US include those evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.
Vatican City – 1
Vietnam – 39

We must agree now that the fact that these numbers keep increasing every day is a cause for concern.

What do We do in The Case of a Pandemic Outbreak?

WHO emphasizes that countries must first, be prepared and ready. Secondly, they should detect, prevent and treat. They must also reduce and suppress the chances of transmitting this virus. Then lastly, continue to innovate and improve.

While various health organizations around the world have been contributing their quota to ensuring this pandemic is stopped in its tracks, we also have a responsibility. Check Important Things To Know About Coronavirus for more information about your responsibilities as an individual in controlling this virus.