The coronavirus has affected 114 countries so far and has led to the death of about 4,000 people worldwide. The World Health Organization has declared the COVID-19a global pandemic. As stated by the WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, this is the first pandemic caused by this virus.
The previous pandemic declared by the WHO was the H1N1 virus, which killed 18,000 people and affected 214 countries. The WHO Director-General said there was still hope to stop the rapid spread of the coronavirus and called on countries to take appropriate measures to contain it.
Epidemic spread of coronavirus
So far, eight countries, including the US and Italy, have reported over 1,000 cases of the disease, while the virus has affected about 120,000 people worldwide. According to statistics, the number of people affected by the coronavirus has increased worldwide and it is predicted that the number of victims will continue to increase.
By declaring the coronavirus a pandemic, the World Health Organization places it in a different category than other recent dangerous outbreaks. The Ebola virus epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo and West Africa in 2014, as well as the Zika virus outbreak in 2016, are placed in the category of international emergencies.
The pandemic is having an impact on all industries, including technology. The production of companies like Apple and Tesla that have factories in China has been affected.
Number of cases and deaths
The country with the most cases and deaths is China, as the virus originated there, in a city called Wuhan. 80,000 people have been affected in China by the coronavirus and more than 3,000 lives have been lost in the country because of it.
In Italy, the number of cases has reached 10,000 and about 630 people have died. Iran and South Korea also have 9,000 and 7,700 confirmed coronavirus cases respectively.
Prevention measures
To prevent the coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that people regularly wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer. The WHO also says people should wear masks when traveling or when around sick people.
