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Thursday, March 19, 2020

Update of COVID 19 Pandemic

BMJ Best Practice - Update

Globally, 179,112 cases and 7426 deaths have been reported as of 17 March 2020.

Many countries are moving from the containment phase to delay and mitigation phases in order to reduce the peak impact of the virus and slow its spread, as well as reduce the anticipated surge in healthcare use. This includes travel bans and restrictions, and social distancing strategies such as restrictions on public gatherings; closures of schools and universities; closures of cafes, bars, restaurants, and other businesses; and encouraging people to work from home and not to leave the house. Some cities and countries are currently in 'lockdown'.

The World Health Organization (WHO) formally declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on 11 March 2020. "WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a press briefing. "We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic. Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by this virus. It doesn’t change what WHO is doing, and it doesn’t change what countries should do," he said. This is the first pandemic to be caused by a coronavirus. It is expected that the number of cases, deaths, and affected countries will increase in the weeks ahead.

                                                                                                    Source: bestpractice.bmj.com



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