Soumya on Twitter: "NEW: WHO director Tedros says the World Health Organization is characterizing the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic." / Twitter

Tedros: "Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by the virus. It doesn’t change what WHO is doing and it doesn’t change what countries should do."

"Several countries have demonstrated that this virus can be suppressed and controlled," Tedros said. "The challenge for many countries who are now dealing with large clusters or community transmission is not whether they can do the same, it’s whether they will.

WHO director Tedros says there has been so much attention on one word: pandemic. "Let me give you some other words that matter much more and are much more actionable -- prevention, preparedness, public health, political leadership and most of all, people," he said.