- The World Health Organization has labelled COVID-19 a pandemic.
- Academic experts recommend public health measures such as ‘social distancing’ to curb the spread.
It’s official: COVID-19 is now a pandemic, spreading so quickly that any tally of infections and deaths rapidly becomes out of date. Cases outside of China have increased 13-fold in the last two weeks, with the global number of infections surpassing 126,000 on March 12.
As countries from Itay to Iran, from Sweden to South Africa, struggle to contain the virus, it is more important than ever to turn to expert advice from institutions such as the World Health Organization. Regular hand-washing with soap is one of the key steps we can take to protect ourselves.