Today's history: WHO chief declared COVID-19 'global pandemic' on this day in 2020

On this day in 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) presided a conference to declare that coronavirus, that originated in China had spread 13 fold in countries worldwide and was now a ‘pandemic’. Asserting that he was ‘deeply concerned’, the WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared a global health emergency. He said, countries must take “urgent and aggressive action” now  to change the course of the outbreak. “The situation will worsen,” he warned, adding that the disease will spread across all countries of the world. “We expect to see the number of cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries climb even higher,” he told a press conference. 

Few hours later, Italy shut down all establishments, businesses and public premises, allowing only pharmacies to operate. The country had then recorded 12,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, with nearly 1,000 in ICU on ventilator. At least 114 countries registered nearly 118,000 cases of COVID-19 respiratory illness caused by SARS-CoV2. Worldwide, 4,300 fatalities were recorded as of March 11, 2020. Researchers predicted that the respiratory illness would cause mild symptoms among 80 percent, severe symptoms in over 15 percent and 5 percent will need critical ICU intervention. 

"I can say we will see more cases and things will get worse than they are right now," US top infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said on March 11, 2020 ahead of a congressional panel.

[Image Credit: AP]

“Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by this coronavirus,” Tedros said at the WHO’s headquarters in Geneva. “It doesn’t change what WHO is doing, and it doesn’t change what countries should do,” he added as he asked the countries worldwide to impose lockdown to stem the rapidly transmitting disease as China, Singapore, and South Korea did. 

An influx of patients with pneumonia like symptoms, majorly cough, fever, sneeze overwhelmed the healthcare facilities pushing them to their limits. “This is not just a public health crisis, it is a crisis that will touch every sector — so every sector and every individual must be involved in the fight,” WHO chief warned. 

“We cannot say this loudly enough, or clearly enough, or often enough: all countries can still change the course of this pandemic. We have never before seen a pandemic sparked by a coronavirus,” he noted asking nations to take aggressive measures. 

Italy first to shutdown after WHO declaration

Implementing the strategic containment and mitigation measure suggested by the WHO, most European countries entered a strict lockdown asking the citizens to restrict all non-essential movement with immediate effect, and work from home. As other countries followed the protocol, the world, for the first time, barrelled to halt with a total shutdown imposed by governments. The former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte assured citizens that the total shutdown of the country was the only known strategy he could enact in order to flatten the curve. His remarks were made as Italy witnessed uncontrollable surge of patients that nearly shattered the healthcare system.  

[March 10, 2020 file photo, people walk by a giant TV screen showing Chinese President Xi Jinping talking to medical workers during a visit to the Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province. Image Credit: AP]

[Medical workers offload cylinders of oxygen amid scarcity. Image Credit: AP]