'Threat of pandemic real', says WHO chief as Coronavirus continues to spread worldwide

Amid the deadly novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) breakout, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday has said that the COVID-19 'pandemic threat is real' as the virus continues to spread worldwide. The virus, which has reportedly originated from Wuhan, China, has so far claimed 3,893 lives with 111,862 cases detected worldwide. So far, 43 people have been tested positive in India. However, no deaths have been reported in India yet.

In his address on Monday, Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday said, "WHO has consolidated our guidance for countries in 4 categories: those with no cases; those with sporadic cases; those with clusters; and those with community transmission. For all countries, the aim is the same: stop transmission and prevent the spread of the virus. For the first three categories, countries must focus on finding, testing, treating and isolating individual cases, and following their contacts."

'We are not at the mercy of this virus'

Furthermore, he added, "Now that the virus has a foothold in so many countries, the threat of a pandemic has become very real. But it would be the first pandemic in history that could be controlled. The bottom line is: we are not at the mercy of this virus. We need to remember that with decisive, early action, we can slow down the virus and prevent infections. Among those who are infected, most will recover. Of the 80,000 reported cases in China, more than 70% have recovered and been discharged."

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India's Coronavirus count rise
 
On Monday, the government revealed that positive cases of the novel Coronavirus in India had soared to 43 after new cases were reported from across India including a three-year-old child. Four new cases emerged from Kerala, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu, which reported one positive case each raising the number to 43. Apart from this, 15 people are under observation for the virus in Maharashtra, however, no positive cases have been detected yet. 

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The 43 that have been tested for the novel Coronavirus have been found positive from the 3,003 samples that were tested in the country. Out of these, 40 are active cases, the initial three which were reported from Kerala have been treated and discharged. The health ministry has advised people against mass gatherings to avoid the spread of Coronavirus in the country.

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Coronavirus outbreak

According to the latest reports, Coronavirus has claimed more than 3,800 lives across the globe and has infected over 1,09,000 people around the world since it first broke out in December 2019. While most of the cases are from Hubei province of China and the city of Wuhan (the epicentre of the outbreak), other countries including Iran, Italy, Japan and the Philippines have also reported deaths related to novel coronavirus.

First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has now spread across 20 countries since December 2019. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has dubbed the virus as COVID-19. 

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