Asia

World must prepare for ‘potential pandemic’: WHO chief

adminFebruary 25, 20203 Mins read94 Views

GENEVA: The World Health Organization on Monday (Feb 24) said the new coronavirus epidemic had "peaked" in China but warned that a surge in cases elsewhere was "deeply concerning" and all countries should prepare for a "potential pandemic".

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the peak in China occurred between Jan 23 and Feb 2 and the number of new cases there "has been declining steadily since then.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus gives a press conference on the situation regarding the COVID-19 at Geneva's WHO headquarters. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

"This virus can be contained," he told reporters in Geneva, praising China for helping to prevent an even bigger spread of the disease through unprecedented lockdowns and quarantines in or near the outbreak's epicentre.

An acceleration of cases in other parts of the world has prompted similar drastic measures. Italy has locked down 11 towns and South Korea ordered the entire 2.5 million residents of the city of Daegu to remain indoors.

READ: Italy reports 7th COVID-19 death; total number of cases more than 200

It also caused falls of more than 3.0 per cent in several European stock markets – with Milan plunging 5.4 per cent – and a boost for safe-haven gold amid fears the epidemic could hit a global economic recovery.

The spread of the disease – officially known as COVID-19 – continued unabated with Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Oman announcing their first cases on Monday.

Kuwaiti women wear protective masks as they sit in a restaurant inside the Mubarakiya Market in Kuwait City. YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP

READ: Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq report coronavirus cases linked to Iran

China also continued its preventive measures against the virus, on Monday postponing its agenda-setting annual parliament meeting for the first time since the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s.

Thai workers wearing protective facemasks, amid fears of the spread of the novel coronavirus, disinfect a pedestrian bridge in Bangkok. Mladen ANTONOV/AFP

COVER-UP ALLEGATIONS

In Iran, the confirmed death toll climbed on Monday by four to 12 – the highest number for any country outside China.

But there were concerns the situation might be worse than officially acknowledged. The semi-official ILNA news agency quoted one local lawmaker in hard-hit Qom – a religious centre – who said 50 people had died there.

The Iranian government denied the report, and pledged transparency.

READ: Iran denies virus cover-up after claim of 50 deaths

Even so, authorities have only reported 64 infections in Iran, an unusually small number that would mean an extremely high mortality rate.

In China, 2,592 people have died out of 77,000 infections.

Michael Ryan, head of WHO's health emergencies programme, said a team from the UN agency would be arriving in Iran on Tuesday.

But he cautioned against drawing any conclusions about the mortality rate. Iran "may only be detecting severe cases" because the epidemic was still at an early stage, he said.

"We need to understand the exact dynamics of what has happened in Iran, but clearly there have been gatherings for religious festivals, and then people coming and then moving afterwards," he said.

AVOID 'PUBLIC PANIC'

South Korea has also seen a rapid rise in infections since a cluster sprouted in a religious sect in the southern city of Daegu last week.

Tourists from South Korea wearing protective masks walking with their belongings while waiting for a flight back to South Korea at the Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

South Korea reported more than 200 infections and two more deaths on Monday, bringing the total cases to more than 830 – by far the most outside China.