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The main reason for this (global emergency) declaration (of COVID-19) is not because of what is happening in China, but because of what is happening in other countries. Our (WHO) greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems.

— Tedros Adhanom Tedros Adhanom (2020)

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Source: Tedros Adhanom (2020) cited in "China virus death toll rises to at least 212 as WHO declares global emergency", The Star Online, 31 January 2020.
Work: Tedros Adhanom, 2020
Source quality: Secondhand citation Quoted from another book or article rather than from the original.

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I’m grateful that so many young people are spreading the word and not the virus. As I keep saying, solidarity is the key to defeating COVID-19 - solidarity between countries, but also between age groups. Thank you for heeding our call for solidarity, solidarity, solidarity.

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We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.

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COVID-19 is taking so much from us. But it’s also giving us something special – the opportunity to come together as one humanity – to work together, to learn together, to grow together.

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In the last few days the progress of the (COVID-19) virus, especially in some countries, especially human-to-human transmission, worries us (WHO). Although the numbers outside China are still relatively small, they hold the potential for a much larger outbreak.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Tedros Adhanom (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.