Pandemic Watch
Outbreak history on March 11
Historical outbreak-response milestones recorded on this calendar date, drawn from WHO Disease Outbreak News, CDC archives, and primary epidemiological literature.
- 2020COVID-19
WHO characterizes COVID-19 as a pandemic
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the spread of COVID-19 as a pandemic during a media briefing — a characterization (not a formal phase declaration, which WHO had retired in 2013) signaling the scope of global transmission. At the time of the description, 118,000 confirmed cases had been reported across 114 countries.
Browse the full outbreak history calendar for milestones across all dates.
