The Number of Coronavirus Infections Outside China Exceeds Those Inside

On February 25, the number of new COVID-2019 coronavirus infections outside of China exceeded the number of cases within the country for the first time. This was reported on February 26 by the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in Geneva.

According to WHO data, on February 25, the number of newly infected people in China increased by 411, while the number outside China rose by 427. Ghebreyesus stated that there are currently no grounds for declaring the outbreak of the coronavirus a pandemic. He noted that using that designation could signal that the global community is unable to contain the spread of the virus, which does not reflect reality.