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WHO declares Europe as center of COVID-19 pandemic

The World Health Organization (WHO) named Europe as the new epicenter of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
According to WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a media briefing on Friday that Europe “reported more cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from China.”
The reported cases in the European Union including the United Kingdom as of March 14 stands at 34,970 cases with 1,500 deaths.
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Ghebreyesus called on countries to impose aggressive measures, community mobilization and social distancing measures to prevent infection and save lives.
“Do not just let this fire burn,” he said.
“Even if you cannot stop transmission, you can slow it down and save lives.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Mike Ryan, Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Program pointed out that travel bans are ineffective and countries that imposed the measure ended up importing cases.
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Dr. Ryan stressed that “case detection, isolation and getting an increasing number of tests” are more efficient and vital in fighting the dreaded virus.
According to European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, COVID-19 has spread to 123 countries with 143 247 confirmed cases and 5,407 fatalities.

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