Corona pandemic ... a strange and terrifying description, is it time to panic?

Osama Abu Al-Rub

The World Health Organization has announced that the Corona virus "Covid-19" is a "pandemic", so what does this word mean? Is it different from "outbreaks" and "epidemics"? Does this announcement mean the beginning of the feeling of panic from this virus, which appeared last December in China and then spread globally?

For the sake of scientific spirit, it is necessary to return to the statement of the Director-General of the organization, Tedros Adhanum, published on its official website today, Wednesday, to understand the situation of Corona's disease without intimidation or ridicule.

"Over the past two weeks, the number of cases of the Corona virus outside China has increased 13 times, the number of affected countries has tripled," Adhanum said. "There are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have died of the disease."

He added, "In the coming days and weeks, we expect to see the number of cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries rise further."

"We are extremely concerned about the prevalence and dangerous levels of concern, as well as the levels of concern for inaction," he concluded, "so we conducted the assessment that Covid-19 can be described as a pandemic."

Time out
To understand the situation well, it is necessary to stop at a set of definitions that indicate the spread of diseases, as we can classify the spread of a specific disease in three progressive levels, namely:

1- Outbreak
And in it there is a slight increase in the number of injuries, but they are unusual. For example, if it is usual to record 10 cases of diarrhea in a specific area daily, then the number has risen to 20, then this is classified as an outbreak. The same is true if suddenly there are cases of an illness that was not present.

Therefore, in the beginning of its outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, Corona disease was classified as an outbreak.

Once the health authorities discover an outbreak, they begin an investigation to determine the number and number of the injured, to find out the best way to contain this outbreak and prevent its spread.

2- The epidemic
It is defined as an outbreak in a larger geographical area, which may be confined to one or a few countries. The Corona virus has shifted from the local outbreak in Wuhan to the epidemic level in a large geographical area that included China.

And SARS formed an epidemic in 2002 and 2003, with SARS emerging in Guangdong Province in southern China, causing more than 8,000 infections and more than 800 deaths, nearly 350 of them in China.

3- The pandemic
It is the global spread of a new disease that includes many countries. And some point out that the term "pandemic" also means that the disease challenges control, and this explains its spread internationally and not confined to one country.

The definition of a pandemic also points to a political aspect, by sending a message to governments and organizations around the world, that the disease has had economic, political and social repercussions on a global scale.

The announcement of a pandemic of an unusual event, and even the SARS virus belonging to the Coronas family of coronaviruses, was not classified as a "pandemic" but rather remained at the "epidemic level".

The last time the WHO used the description of a "pandemic" was during the "swine flu" epidemic in 2009. According to a report in the American Time magazine, this announcement led at the time to criticism due to the fact that the situation was not serious enough to justify its declaration of a "pandemic". ".

Initially, the WHO estimated deaths from "swine flu" at about 18.5 thousand, but a review published in the "Lancet" magazine in 2012 raised the number to between 151 and 575 thousand.

What does advertising mean?
The declaration of a "pandemic" does not mean that we must fear, or that we must store food and muzzles. Nor does it mean that the virus has become more or more deadly infection, nor that global efforts to deal with it have failed.

"The pandemic is not a word for use lightly or indifferently ... It is a word if misused, it can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fighting has ended, leading to unnecessary suffering and death," the WHO Director-General emphasized in his speech.

"Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change the World Health Organization's assessment of the threat posed by this virus ... it does not change what the organization is doing, nor does it change what countries should do," Adhanum added.

"We have never seen a pandemic caused by a coronavirus, as this is the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus," he said, stressing, "We have also not seen a pandemic that can be controlled at the same time," in a positive sign that means that the disease is controllable and combating.

The director of the organization added, "This is not just a public health crisis ... It is a crisis that will affect every sector, so every sector and everyone should participate in the battle."

Is it time to panic?
The truth is that announcing the Corona virus as a pandemic is a matter of reassurance, as it means that the world takes the issue seriously and is in the process of taking the necessary measures to deal with it.

Adhanom's statements confirm that the world is able to control this pandemic, and that the virus is defeatable, as he said that "all countries can change the course of this pandemic ... if countries discover, test, treat, isolate, and track (injuries), and mobilize their personnel to respond, Countries with a small number of cases can prevent these situations from becoming groups, and these groups become a source of transition to society. "

He added that "many countries have demonstrated that this virus can be suppressed and controlled."

Tens of thousands recovered
As of Wednesday, more than 67,000 people had been infected with the Coronavirus, more than 15 times the number of deaths.

A few days ago, Dr. Yahya Makki Abdel-Mumin, head of the respiratory and cancerous viruses department at the French Medical Institute of the University Hospital "Claude Bernard" in Lyon, France - in a special statement to the Island Net - called not to be intimidated by the seriousness of the virus, because thousands of patients recovered completely from it without Medicines thanks to natural immune systems.

In a special statement to Al-Jazeera Net also, the specialist in internal and acute diseases at the University of Birmingham, UK, Dr. Nihal Abu Saif said that the death rate from Corona Virus ranges between 2 and 3%, bearing in mind that the death rate of "SARS" was 10%, and for this people must be reassured with an emphasis on the importance Prevention through more attention to hygiene and hand washing.

Dr. Nihal added, "We have to deal calmly and reassured, while adhering to the recommendations of the ministries of health and medical authorities in our countries, and not to do wrong behaviors such as trying to store food and medicine or listening to rumors."

The correct and healthy response to the Corona virus was summarized by the Director of the World Health Organization at the conclusion of his speech, "We are in this together to do the right things calmly and protect the citizens of the world ... It is possible."