WHO declares pandemic

If the worldwide outbreak of the new coronavirus did not have everyone’s attention before, it should now. The World Health Organization officially designated it a pandemic on Wednesday.

What does the declaration change? WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he worries about “alarming levels of inaction” in some countries. Calling the disease a pandemic will alert all governments to the seriousness of the threat and could trigger action from those who have been slow to respond. “All countries can still change the course of this pandemic if countries detect, test, treat, isolate, trace, and mobilize their people,” Tedros said. The illness has spread to at least 45 nations and sickened more than 120,000 people, causing about 4,400 deaths.

Dig deeper: Read Jenny Lind Schmitt’s report for WORLD Magazine about life under the specter of the coronavirus in Seattle.