WHO declared COVID-19 a global emergency "at the right time": chief

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says that the COVID-19 outbreak can be characterized as a "pandemic" as the virus spreads increasingly worldwide, at a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 11, 2020. (Xinhua/Chen Junxia)

GENEVA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global emergency, the highest level of alert, at the right time when there were only 82 cases outside of China, and when the rest of world had enough time to respond, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said here on Wednesday. ■