The World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said coronavirus was an "enemy against humanity". The number of infected people is now more than 200,000.?
"This coronavirus is presenting us with an unprecedented threat," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus while speaking to the media. He stressed that it was "an unprecedented opportunity to come together as one against a common enemy: an enemy against humanity."?
More than 8,000 people are dead and Europe is now considered the virus' new epicentre. It originated in China.?
"Don't assume your community won't be affected. Prepare as if it will be," he said.?
"There is hope. There are many things all countries can do," he added.?
He urged countries to insist on physical distancing measures, cancelling sporting events, concerts and other large gatherings. This would help slow down the transmission of the disease.?
But he also added that the best way to control it was for countries to "isolate, test, treat and trace."?
Or else, as he put it, "transmission chains can continue at a low level, then resurge once physical distancing measures are lifted."?
He also said that the first vaccine trial had already begun.?
Tedros appealed to nations to use a "comprehensive approach, with the aim of slowing down transmission and flattening the curve."
"This approach is saving lives and buying time for the development of vaccines and treatments," he went on to say.?
The pandemic has held the world hostage as of now as authorities battle to combat the disease on every front.