The infectious Covid-19 has spread to many countries around the world since emerging in Wuhan, China.
And it’s not showing signs of slowing down, even though it’s been 3 months after it was first discovered.
In the past 24 hours alone, the new coronavirus was found in 9 new countries. The financial market has also plunged as it becomes evident that the outbreak will have a huge impact on the global economy.
In light of this, the World Health Organisation (WHO) raised the global risk assessment of Covid-19 to the highest level on Friday (28 Feb).
According to Dr Mike Ryan, an executive director at WHO, the escalation in alert level is not meant to cause alarm or scare people.
Instead, it serves as a reality check for governments around the world,
Wake up. Get ready. This virus may be on its way and you need to be ready. You have a duty to your citizens, you have a duty to the world to be ready.
In the past 24 hours, Covid-19 has spread to 9 new countries, including Azerbaijan, Mexico, New Zealand, and even Nigeria.
This means that the coronavirus has now spread to every continent in the world, except Antarctica.
In particular, WHO is extremely concerned about the outbreak in Africa and warned that the healthcare systems there may be ill-equipped to deal with the Covid-19 outbreak.
Despite the grim situation, Dr Ryan stressed that the outbreak can be contained with the right measures.
He urged countries to start thinking if they have the appropriate “isolation units, medical supplies and other vital equipment“.
Containing the virus and interrupting transmission is also key, as it gives officials the chance to stop the virus.
He cited Singapore and China as examples where this is being done,
But what it’s clearly doing as you’ve seen in China and Singapore, it’s slowing the virus down and allowing us to get ready to prepare.
Earlier this month, the number of Covid-19 cases outside China surpassed those in the country for the first time.
Affected countries have since been forced to take drastic measures to contain the spread of the virus.
Switzerland was the latest country to announce such measures, suspending all events with more than 1,000 participants until 15 Mar.
Saudi Arabia also banned Mecca pilgrimages to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina earlier this week.
With Covid-19 spreading to more countries, we hope governments around the world will take the necessary precautionary measures to curb the spread of the virus.
Though a handful of cases might not sound worrying at first, the situation could get out of hand very easily, if not managed properly.
In addition to the measures put in place by governments, individuals should also observe good hygiene and seek medical treatment if they feel unwell.
Featured image adapted from Twitter.
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The dog stayed with its owner until she was discharged.
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The dog, Taohu, was inseparable from its owner, who raised it from puppyhood.