Speaking on the outbreak, WHO said: "Of the 118,000 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."

WHO said there are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have lost their lives.

WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "In the past two weeks, the number of cases of COVID-19 outside China has increased 13-fold, and the number of affected countries has tripled."

 He said WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock.

"We are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction," he said.

"We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic," he said.

"Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. 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," he said.

"Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by this virus. It doesn’t change what WHO is doing, and it doesn’t change what countries should do," he said.

He said the world has not seen a pandemic sparked by a coronavirus.

"This is the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus. And we have never before seen a pandemic that can be controlled, at the same time," Ghebreyesus said.

What is a pandemic?

A global epidemic is referred to as a pandemic. It is a situation when the disease has spread over several nations or even continents and even hits the lives of large number of people. Whereas, the term endemic is used when an infection is present within a geographic location that is existing perpetually. 

Photo caption and crdeit:

UNFPA China
On Feb 26, a shipment of adult diapers donated by UNFPA arrived in Wuhan and was distributed to local hospitals.