» Articles » PMID: 32191675

WHO Declares COVID-19 a Pandemic

Overview
Journal Acta Biomed
Specialty General Medicine
Date 2020 Mar 20
PMID 32191675
Citations 3190
Authors
Affiliations
Soon will be listed here.
Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, has declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic (1). At a news briefing , WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, noted that over the past 2 weeks, the number of cases outside China increased 13-fold and the number of countries with cases increased threefold. Further increases are expected. He said that the WHO is "deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction," and he called on countries to take action now to contain the virus. "We should double down," he said. "We should be more aggressive." [...].

Citing Articles

Access and use of general and mental health services before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Sculco C, Bano B, Prina E, Tedeschi F, Bartucz M, Barbui C BMJ Open. 2025; 15(3):e091342.

PMID: 40074252 PMC: 11904334. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-091342.


Screening and monitoring patients at high risk for mental health issues in COVID-19: a multicenter pre-post assessment study.

Yoo J, Seo J, Ock M, Jun J BMC Psychol. 2025; 13(1):226.

PMID: 40069877 PMC: 11895362. DOI: 10.1186/s40359-025-02514-5.


Clinical Comparison of COVID Waves 2-5. An Inpatient Retrospective Comparative Analysis From Karachi, Pakistan.

Sayeed M, Shalim E, Farman S, Farooqui F, Syed B, Ahmed I Open Forum Infect Dis. 2025; 12(3):ofaf072.

PMID: 40066088 PMC: 11890920. DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofaf072.


Healthcare providers' perspectives on factors influencing their critical care decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic: An international pilot survey.

Vadi S, Sanwalka N, Thaker P World J Crit Care Med. 2025; 14(1):97006.

PMID: 40060734 PMC: 11671838. DOI: 10.5492/wjccm.v14.i1.97006.


Spatiotemporal prevalence of COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 variants in Africa.

Gao L, Zheng C, Tian T, Brima Tia A, Abdulai M, Xiao K Front Public Health. 2025; 13:1526727.

PMID: 40051513 PMC: 11882590. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1526727.


References
1.
Chan J, Yuan S, Kok K, To K, Chu H, Yang J . A familial cluster of pneumonia associated with the 2019 novel coronavirus indicating person-to-person transmission: a study of a family cluster. Lancet. 2020; 395(10223):514-523. PMC: 7159286. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30154-9. View

2.
Li Q, Guan X, Wu P, Wang X, Zhou L, Tong Y . Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus-Infected Pneumonia. N Engl J Med. 2020; 382(13):1199-1207. PMC: 7121484. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001316. View

3.
Zhu N, Zhang D, Wang W, Li X, Yang B, Song J . A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019. N Engl J Med. 2020; 382(8):727-733. PMC: 7092803. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001017. View

4.
Murthy S, Gomersall C, Fowler R . Care for Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19. JAMA. 2020; 323(15):1499-1500. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2020.3633. View

5.
Liu W, Zhang Q, Chen J, Xiang R, Song H, Shu S . Detection of Covid-19 in Children in Early January 2020 in Wuhan, China. N Engl J Med. 2020; 382(14):1370-1371. PMC: 7121643. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc2003717. View