WHO urges world to fight coronavirus: ‘This is not a drill’
- Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calls on governments to ‘pull all the stops’ to slow epidemic’s global march
- Rest of world has about 17 times as many new infections as fresh cases in China
The global march of the new virus triggered a vigorous appeal from the World Health Organisation on Thursday for governments to pull out “all the stops” to slow the epidemic, as it drained colour from India’s spring festivities, closed Bethlehem’s Nativity Church and blocked Italians from visiting elderly relatives in nursing homes.
As China, after many arduous weeks, appeared to be winning its epic, costly battle against the new virus, the fight was revving up in newly affected areas of the globe, unleashing disruptions that profoundly affected billions of people.
The UN health agency urged all countries to “push this virus back”, a call to action reinforced by figures showing about 17 times as many new infections outside China as in it. The virus has infected nearly 98,000 people and killed over 3,300.
“This is not a drill. This is not the time for giving up. This is not a time for excuses. This is a time for pulling out all the stops,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva. “Countries have been planning for scenarios like this for decades. Now is the time to act on those plans.”
As Chinese manufacturers gradually reopened their factories, antivirus barriers went up elsewhere.