"This is the first time we see a pandemic caused by a coronavirus," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
A pandemic means that a new type of influenza virus is spread across several continents and uninterrupted from person to person. The corona virus has now spread to 114 countries and infected almost 120,000 people.
- The fact that we now have a pandemic does not really change anything practical, but it is a powerful political measure. It is a strong signal from WHO that now we have to roll up our sleeves and do something about it. We have a big global threat and then everyone has to help, says Johan von Schreeb, physician and expert in emergency medicine.
Pandemic tools in SwedenThe last pandemic in the world was in 2009, when the so-called swine flu spread.
In Sweden, the Public Health Authority coordinates the pandemic tools, and there is also, since 2009, a national pandemic group (NPG) consisting of representatives from several different authorities, municipalities and county administrative boards.
- Work on the spread of virus in Sweden will probably continue as it has done before. But now we are beginning to feel an increased burden on health care, and then it is important to nationally manage this so that resources can be redistributed, so that they are in the regions where the need is greatest, says Johan von Schreeb.