Politics

The Coronavirus Might Become A Pandemic – But What Does That Actually Mean?

Don't worry, you're still more likely to meet a racist than a coronavirus patient.

by Rachael Conaghan  27 February 2020
coronavirus

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The coronavirus has now spread to six of seven continents (congrats to those in Antarctica), but good news — it’s not a pandemic just yet.

The World Health Organisation are holding off on officially declaring COVID-19 a pandemic to avoid unnecessary panic– but they are warning the world to be prepared anyway.

Honestly, right now you’re way, way more likely to run into someone saying racist stuff about the coronavirus than someone with the actual coronavirus.

The situation has gotten so bad the WHO have actually had to include measures on how to stop racism in their coronavirus updates, which is fucking horrible considering they’ve kind of got a lot on their plate right now.

That’s partly why they’re spending so much time assuring people COVID-19 is not a pandemic just yet — because right now people need to be prepared, not panicked.

So What Is A Pandemic?

Officially, a pandemic is a situation where the whole world’s population is likely to be exposed and fall sick.

The last officially declared pandemic was the H1N1 flu in 2009, when hundreds of thousands of people died around the world.

In his latest COVID-19 update, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said people shouldn’t be too eager to declare a pandemic without “careful and clear-minded analysis of the facts”.

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

“It may also signal 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.”

Right now COVID-19 is officially considered “a public health emergency of international concern“.

So far almost 81,000 people around the world have contracted the virus, and more than 2,700 people have died.

We also hit a new milestone this week. On Tuesday, for the first time, the number of new COVID-19 cases outside China was greater than the number of new cases inside China. That’s all thanks to big clusters in Italy, Iran and South Korea, as well as smaller outbreaks in other countries.

The first Latin American COVID-19 case was also confirmed today, after a 61-year-old man from Brazil became ill after returning home from Italy.

Yesterday Australia activated its emergency response plan, with 23 confirmed cases of the virus. We’re currently considered the fourth most prepared country in the world for a coronavirus pandemic (behind the UK, US and the Netherlands), so go us.

While the WHO aren’t calling it a pandemic yet, Australia’s chief medical officer Brendan Murphy says if it does evolve into one “we will be prepared“.

“Every part of the health system is now working on its plan so that we’re ready if things develop further in the future,” he said. “The question (of whether a pandemic will be declared) will evolve over the next few days to see whether the transmission in those countries can be contained or it’s sustained.”

That Hasn’t Stopped People From Being Racist AF

Meanwhile, people continue to be racist and shit.

At Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital some patients have refused to be treated by Asian doctors over misplaced fears that they’ll catch coronavirus. Others are demanding to know whether doctors of Asian descent have been tested for COVID-19.

It’s gotten so bad that today staff had to issue an anti-racism warning for anyone coming to the hospital.

The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine has also raised concerns over an increase in racism in emergency departments.

Things have gotten so bad that even the World Health Organisation — who, let’s be honest, have got bigger things to worry about — have had to call out the racism.

They even dedicated a whole page in their situation report (which is usually about how to stop the spread of disease) to how to stop the spread of “stigmatism”.

The COVID-19 virus has a death rate less than two percent, and most people who contract it have only a mild case of the virus.

So, in summary, wash your hands, keep listening to health authorities and stop listening to panicky grandstanders.