THE World Health Organization has said the world should do more to prepare for a possible coronavirus pandemic. The WHO said it was too early to call the outbreak a pandemic but countries should be “in a phase of preparedness.” A pandemic is when an infectious disease spreads easily from person to person in many parts of the world. More cases of the virus, which causes respiratory disease COVID-19, continue to emerge, with outbreaks in South Korea, Italy and Iran causing concern. More than 1,200 cases have been confirmed in about 30 other countries with more than 20 deaths. Italy reported four more deaths Monday, raising the total there to seven. Worldwide stock markets saw sharp falls because of concerns about the economic impact of the virus. The proportion of infected people who die from COVID-19 appears to be between 1 percent and 2 percent, although the WHO cautions that the mortality rate is not known yet. On Monday, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain reported their first cases, all involving people who had come from Iran. Officials in Bahrain said the patient infected there was a schoolbus driver, and several schools had been closed as a result. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters Monday that the number of new cases in recent days in Iran, Italy and South Korea was “deeply concerning.” However he added: “For the moment we are not witnessing the uncontained global spread of this virus and we are not witnessing large scale severe disease or deaths. Does this virus have pandemic potential? Absolutely, it has. Are we there yet? From our assessment, not yet.” ‘The key message that should give all countries hope, courage and confidence is that this virus can be contained, indeed there are many countries that have done exactly that,” Tedros said. “Using the word ‘pandemic’ now does not fit the facts but may certainly cause fear.” But Mike Ryan, head of WHO’s health emergencies program, said now was the time to make “do everything you would do to prepare for a pandemic.” (SD-Agencies) | 