Coronavirus: Hong Kong expert claims outbreak is now a pandemic and US death could be ‘tip of the iceberg’
- University of Hong Kong’s medical faculty dean Gabriel Leung says only reason WHO has not used word is ‘public fear’
- First wave of outbreak outside China could just be starting, says Leung
A top medical expert in Hong Kong believes the coronavirus epidemic can now be labelled a global pandemic, as it has spread quickly across several countries.
Professor Gabriel Leung, dean of the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) medical faculty, added the first death recorded in the United States was worrying, as it indicated there could be more confirmed cases in the country.
However, the World Health Organisation has stopped short of calling the outbreak a pandemic, with director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus saying health officials had not yet witnessed the “uncontained global spread”, or “large-scale severe disease or death” associated with a pandemic.
But speaking on a radio show on Sunday, Leung said the death in the US could be “the tip of the iceberg”.
“One death could mean there are 100 confirmed cases in the region – and maybe you haven’t recorded as many cases just because you haven’t tested enough people,” he said.