[D66] WHO says coronavirus danger is “very high”

[A.OUT]

wsws.org:

WHO says coronavirus danger is “very high”
By Benjamin Mateus
28 February 2020

The World Health Organization (WHO) has upgraded its assessment of the 
danger posed by the coronavirus to “very high,” stopping short of 
calling the outbreak a pandemic. Director-General Tedros said at a 
recent press conference, “For the moment, we are not witnessing the 
uncontained global spread of this virus, and we are not witnessing 
large-scale severe death or disease.” The coronavirus has now been 
documented in at least 56 countries.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 
2019-nCoV virus has caused death resulting from the illness as well as 
sustained person-to-person spread criteria. The worldwide spread is the 
third criterion in determining a contagion as a pandemic. According to 
Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization, “If 
we say there’s a pandemic of coronavirus, we’re essentially accepting 
that every human on the planet will be exposed to that virus.”

These statements reflect the WHO’s belief that containment measures can 
still bring the “epidemic” under effective control. However, as the 
number of cases outside of mainland China continues to outpace China 
with new countries being added to the growing list of countries that 
have confirmed new cases of Covid-19, it seems that time is of the 
essence. Still, some countries like Vietnam, Nepal, and Singapore, as 
well as more recently China, have shown early indications that the 
infection has slowed or stopped in these countries.

A declaration of a pandemic would employ emergency-grade response plans 
at local and state levels. These measures would include school closures, 
the use of essential personnel only, use of telecommunication for the 
conduct of business, closure of public events – sporting events, 
conferences, political rallies and conventions – and the possible use of 
massive quarantine measures to include the deployment of military or 
police forces to enforce regulations. These measures have been employed 
by many nations who are essentially preparing for massive outbreaks in 
their communities.

The last time the WHO declared a pandemic was in 2009 when the H1N1 flu, 
better known as the swine flu, infected over 1 billion people on the 
globe and killed over half a million people. The WHO was severely 
criticized for its declaration of a pandemic and handling of the crisis. 
They were cited for the needlessly complex definition of a pandemic, 
potential conflict of interest with the vaccine industries, and 
responding with lack of resolve after declaring the pandemic. According 
to the New York Times, “Countries that needed technical help could not 
obtain it in enough languages, and the WHO bureaucracy created an 
unmanageable number of documents.”

During a 2011 review of the pandemic, they noted in their draft that the 
“core national and local capacities called for in the International 
Health regulation (IHR) are not yet fully operational and are not now on 
a path to timely implementation worldwide.” Essentially, the WHO lacks 
enforceable sanctions. In other words, it cannot make countries ascribe 
to their recommendations.

In their Summary conclusion 3: The world is ill-prepared to respond to a 
severe influenza pandemic or any similarly global, sustained, and 
threatening public health emergency. Beyond the implementation of core 
public health capacities called for in the IHR, global preparedness can 
be advanced through research, strengthened health-care delivery systems, 
economic development in low and middle-income countries ad improved 
health status.

There are presently 84,175 cases of Covid-19, with 2,876 deaths so far. 
Thirty-six thousand eight hundred eighty-four people have recovered. The 
three countries posing serious acceleration in cases – Iran, Italy, and 
South Korea – have reported more than 3,500 infections on Friday, 
doubling in two days. On Friday, Iran had 388 cases (+143 from the day 
before) with 34 deaths (+8); Italy 889 (+234) with 21 deaths (+4); South 
Korea 2,337 (+571) with 16 deaths (+3). The high number of deaths in 
Iran is worrisome as it suggests the epidemic is much more expansive 
than reported. Additionally, a case confirmed in Nigeria has the WHO 
worried that the outbreak could take a foothold in Africa, which could 
have devastating consequences. China has only had eight new cases and no 
new deaths.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost over 3,200 points in one week, 
suffering its worst week since the financial crisis in 2008. Goldman 
Sachs has told its investors that they do not expect US companies to 
generate earnings growth in 2020. With the warning by the CDC that it is 
only a matter of time that the coronavirus will find impact, the US has 
sent the markets into an epileptic fit. Supply chains are almost 
non-existent, and production and shipping have come to a grinding halt.

A high-ranking whistleblower informed the Washington Post that federal 
health employees sent to Travis Airforce Base to assist with quarantined 
evacuees from Japan openly interacted with them without proper medical 
training or protective gear.

This followed news that a California woman, currently in critical 
condition at UC Davis Medical Center, had been infected with no direct 
link to anyone traveling from the affected countries raising the 
suspicion that the source of her infection may have come from someone at 
Travis Air Force Base. It is unclear if any of the HHS personnel were 
contaminated or are the source of the infection in California. A second 
person in Santa Clara County has now been identified without any links 
heightening the suspicion that the infection is taking hold there.

The US Navy also confirmed on Friday that they had ordered ships in the 
Pacific Fleet that have traveled to affected countries, approximately 30 
to 40 vessels, to remain at sea for fourteen days while they monitor the 
several thousands of sailors for possible signs of infection. One 
American military soldier based in Daegu, South Korea, has tested 
positive for Covid-19.

Meanwhile, new infections are erupting in Europe with its porous borders 
as France and Germany are reporting new cases without travel links 
suggesting the infection, given its two-week incubation period, has 
become well established in these regions. Mexico has also confirmed its 
first case. It is not a matter of if but a matter of when the WHO will 
declare a pandemic.