good afternoon everybody in the past two
weeks the number of cases of Corbett 19
outside China has increased 13 fold and
the number of affected countries has
tripled there are now more than one
hundred eighteen thousand cases in 114
countries and 4291
people have lost their lives thousands
more are fighting for their lives in
hospitals in the days and weeks ahead we
expect to see the number of cases the
number of deaths and the number of
affected countries climbed even higher
whu-oh has been assessing this outbreak
around the clock and we're deeply
concerned both by the alarming levels of
spread and severity and by the alarming
levels of inaction we have therefore
made the assessment that kovat 19 can be
characterized as a pandemic pandemic is
not a word to use lightly or carelessly
it's a word that if misuse can cause
unreasonable fear or unjustified
acceptance that the fight is over
leading to unnecessary suffering and
death describing the situation as a
pandemic does not change
WHS assessment of the threat posed by
the virus it doesn't change what WH er
is doing and it doesn't change what
countries should do we have never been
before
seen a pandemic spark it by
coronavirus this is the first pandemic
caused by corona virus and we have never
before seen a pandemic that can be
controlled at the same time whu-oh has
been in full response mode since we were
notified of the first cases and we have
called every day for countries to take
urgent and aggressive action we have
rang the alarm bell loud and clear as I
said on Monday just looking at the
number of cases and the number of
countries affected does not tell the
full story of the 118 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 81 countries have
not reported any cases and 57 countries
have reported 10 cases or less we can
note this we cannot say this loudly
enough or clearly enough or often enough
all countries can still change the
course of this pandemic if countries
detect tests 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
even those countries with community
transmission or larger clusters can turn
the tide on this virus several countries
have demonstrated that this virus can be
suppressed and controlled the challenge
for many countries who are now dealing
with large clusters or community
transmission is not whether they can do
the same it's whether they will some
countries are struggling with a lack of
capacity some countries are struggling
with a lack of resources some countries
are struggling with a lack of resolve
we're grateful for the measures being
taken in Iran Italy and the Republic of
Korea to slow the virus and control
their epidemics we know that these
measures are taking a heavy toll on
societies and economies site just as
they did in China all countries must
strike a fine balance between protecting
health minimizing economic and social
disruption and respecting human rights
WHS mandate is public health but we're
working with many partners across all
actors to mitigate the social and
economic consequences of this pandemic
this is not just a public health crisis
it's a crisis that will touch every
sector so every sector and every
individual must be involved in the fight
I have said from the beginning that
countries must take a
whole-of-government all of society
approach built around a comprehensive
strategy to prevent infections save
lives
and minimize impact
let me summarize it in four key areas
first prepare and be ready second
detect protect and treat third reduce
transmission and fourth innovate and
learn I remind all countries that we're
calling on you to activate and scale up
your emergency response mechanisms
communicate with your people about the
risks and how they can protect
themselves this is everybody's business
find isolate test and treat every case
and trace every contact ready or
hospitals protect and train your health
workers and let's all look out for each
other because we need each other there
has been so much attention on one word
and you know that let me give you some
other words that matter much more and
that are much more actionable these are
prevention preparedness public health
political leadership and most of all
people we're in this together
to do the right things with calm we're
in this together to do the right things
with Cal and protect the citizens of the
world it's doable
I thank you
you