UPDATE: WHO Declares New Coronavirus a Pandemic

The World Health Organization said Wednesday that the spread of the new coronavirus originating from China has become a pandemic.

In late February, the WHO had raised its global risk assessment over the coronavirus to the highest level, but stopped short of declaring it a pandemic, saying there was still a chance of containing the disease.

Although WHO Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus had repeatedly said that the coronavirus could be contained with the right steps and international cooperation, the number of countries and people affected by the virus has continued to rise.

According to WHO data, over 110,000 people have been infected with the virus, leaving more than 4,000 dead around the world, far exceeding the impact of the 2002-2003 SARS coronavirus that sickened 8,098 people and claimed the lives of 774 globally.

Countries other than China reporting large numbers of infections or deaths from the virus include Italy, Iran, Japan and South Korea.

As the impact of the pneumonia-causing disease has begun to be felt in many countries outside China, the WHO on Jan. 30 called the outbreak of the coronavirus a global emergency, saying the situation constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, or PHEIC.