Page 67 - COVID-19 and the Church_eBOOK_Color_07.16.2020_Neat

The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies
an outbreak as an epidemic when the spread reaches
the level where a region or community is affected. For
example, WHO will refer to a flu outbreak across the city
of Detroit as a citywide flu epidemic.
While the word epidemic is a noun, in this case it
could also be an adjective in other cases. So, when we
hear WHO refer to a disease an “epidemic disease,” they
are using the word epidemic as an adjective to describe
the seriousness of the outbreak. The same applies to the
word pandemic.

Understanding A Pandemic?
One of the easiest ways to describe a pandemic
might be to look at it as an epidemic that has grown
far beyond a localized community. In simple terms,
the infectious disease has now spread over a country, a
continent or the entire world.

In the interest of greater clarity, the World Health
Organization defines a pandemic as “a worldwide spread
of a new disease.” On March 11, 2020, WHO officially
announced to the world that the Coronavirus outbreak
has spread around the world and is now officially
upgraded to a pandemic.
Explaining An Epicenter?
An epicenter may also be called a hotspot or a
hot zone. In the case of a pandemic, the epicenter is
essentially, the focal point of the pandemic. When any
region, city, state or country is specifically named by WHO
as the epicenter of a pandemic disease, that is critical
information. What WHO means is, “disproportionately
a greater number of confirmed (or increasing) cases are
coming from that particular zone, than from any other
place in the world.”