WHO’s Dr. Tedros Affirms COVID-19 Epidemic Is Not a Pandemic, Hits Media, Politicians for Sowing Fear

Feb. 27, 2020 (EIRNS)—In his Feb. 26 press conference, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was very clear on why the current COVID-19 epidemic does not meet the criteria for being declared a pandemic. Stating that the number of cases in China “has prompted some media and politicians to push for a pandemic to be declared,” he cautioned, “We should not be too eager to declare a pandemic without a careful and clear-minded analysis of the facts.”

Using the word “pandemic” carelessly has “no tangible benefits,” he emphasized, but it does have “significant risk in terms of amplifying unnecessary and unjustified fear and stigma and paralyzing systems.”

Moreover, he warned, using the word pandemic loosely can send a message “that we can no longer contain the virus, which is not true. We are in a fight that can be won, if we do the right things.” (emphasis added)

Tedros said he’s not downplaying the potential for a pandemic, and won’t hesitate to declare it “if it is an accurate description of the situation.” WHO is working 24/7, to monitor the evolution of the epidemic around the world, he reported, and “engaging experts internally and externally on the issue.”