The coronavirus outbreak is now officially a pandemic

Netaji Bose International Airport.
(Image credit: DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP via Getty Images)

The World Health Organization officially declared the new COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak a pandemic Wednesday.

After holding off on the label for some time, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organization is "deeply concerned" by the virus' rapid spread, as well as by the lack of action being taken to confront it across the globe.

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Gebreyesus also said it was the first time a coronavirus ever led to a pandemic. Tim O'Donnell

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