WHO says coronavirus ‘absolutely’ has potential for pandemic status as Italy, Iran brace for surge

Health officials stressed on Monday that while Iran and Italy have reported a surge in coronavirus cases over the last several days and raced to cancel public events, the outbreak, which originated in China, has not yet met the criteria for a pandemic, although it “absolutely” has the potential to get there. “Using the term pandemic now, it doesn’t fit the facts, but it may cause fear,” World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a press conference on Monday. “Now is not the time to focus on what word we use – it will not prevent a single infection or save a single life.”