Coronavirus outbreak a ‘global pandemic’, worse to come: German health minister

Jens Spahn said next days and weeks will be challenging and Berlin is working closely with EU partners to respond to the virus ‘in a cool-headed way’

Meanwhile, two staff working for the EU administration in Brussels have tested positive for the coronavirus

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Health workers at a pre-triage medical tent located in front of the Cremona hospital, in Cremona, northern Italy. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:50pm, 4 Mar 2020Updated: 12:02am, 5 Mar 2020

The coronavirus outbreak has turned into “a global pandemic”, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Wednesday, warning that worse was to come.

The situation in Berlin and across Europe had changed drastically in recent days, he said, with Germany reporting a sharp uptick to 240 cases.

“The coronavirus outbreak in China has become a global pandemic,” Spahn told German lawmakers. “The situation is changing very quickly,” he said. “What’s clear is that we have not yet reached the peak of the outbreak.”

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has so far stopped short of declaring a pandemic – defined as an epidemic that spreads throughout the world through local transmission.

But it has urged countries to prepare for a potential pandemic.

In Germany, Spahn said efforts remained focused on containing the disease and slowing its spread, including through quarantining people ill with Covid-19 and cancelling large gatherings such as trade fairs.