The COVID-19 pandemic is 'accelerating', WHO warns as global death toll passes 15,000

The WHO warns the new coronavirus pandemic is "accelerating", but says it's still possible to change its trajectory.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization. Source: AAP

The global coronavirus pandemic is clearly "accelerating", the World Health Organization warned on Monday, but said it was still possible to change its trajectory by going on the attack.

The remarks came as the number of deaths soared past 15,000, with more than 341,000 people infected worldwide, according to a tally compiled by AFP from official sources.

"The pandemic is accelerating," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual news conference.
The number of officially recorded cases is believed to represent only a fraction of the true number of infections, with many countries only testing the most severe cases in need of hospitalisation.

"We are not helpless bystanders. We can change the trajectory of this pandemic," Dr Tedros said.

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Published 24 March 2020 10:41am
By Stergos Kastelloriou


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