WHO Director-General Tan Desai said on April 1 that in the past 5 weeks, the confirmed cases are close to explosive growth, and almost all countries and regions have reported confirmed cases. In the next few days, more than one million confirmed cases and more than 50,000 deaths will occur. COVID-19 became the first coronavirus pandemic facing humans.
What does it mean that COVID-19 becomes the first coronavirus pandemic facing human beings?
“The fact that COVID-19 became a ‘pandemic’ is a fact,” said Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist at the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Zeng Guang introduced that although there are many coronaviruses, only three have attracted worldwide attention. The first was SARS in 2003. At that time, it was not a global pandemic, and it had not spread in other countries. It was mainly concentrated in the Chinese. The second MERS was even more limited, mainly concentrated in a small number of countries in the Middle East. The mortality rate was high, but the transmission rate was weak, and the number of patients was small. The third time is COVID-19, which has now spread in more than 200 countries around the world. The number of infected people far exceeds SARS, and may eventually be more than 100 times more than SARS.
As early as March 11, local time, Tandersee announced that the COVID-19 epidemic was “characteristically called a pandemic.” The WHO defines a pandemic as “a new disease spreading globally.” From the WHO’s declaration of the COVID-19 epidemic as an “public health emergency of international concern” at the end of January to its declaration of a global “pandemic” today, it means that the global spread of the virus has not been curbed. The difficulty has increased.
Zeng Guang said, “COVID-19 is a huge challenge to humankind and requires global unity to cope with it. This is no longer a country’s task. Any country’s loopholes in prevention and control will affect the global epidemic. China is within its ability to It is very right to assist some difficult countries. ”
Zeng Guang predicted that “the next step of COVID-19 may be a climax in some developing countries, and it needs the help of the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and other countries.”
“China has not come to an end yet, it is just entering a new stage. With the global epidemic raging, China cannot enter the end.”
Zeng Guang reminded, “Successful prevention and control in the first stage is only a phased victory. It is now in the stage of external defense input and internal defense rebound. We also have to stand together and fight with other countries to protect ourselves and help others. At the same time, keep Discover the ability to control early to prevent the next pandemic. “