The World Health Organization has officially declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. 

During a press conference Wednesday, Director-General of the WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that in the past two weeks, the cases of COVID-19 outside of China increased 13-fold, with the numbers of affected countries tripling. 

"There are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries and 4,291 people have lost their lives," Ghebreyesus said. He added that of the 118,000 cases, more than 90% of the cases are in four countries, with two of them, China and South Korea, seeing significant declining epidemics. 

While Ghebreyesus said that while declaring the situation as a pandemic, this does not change the WHO's assessment of the threat posed by the coronavirus. 

"Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO's assessment of the threat posed by this coronavirus. It doesn't change what WHO is doing, and it doesn't change what countries should do" 

He added that large countries could turn the tide against the virus, but the challenge is still greater for smaller countries that could lack the capacity or resources to deal with the virus. 

"In the past two weeks, the number of cases of COVID19 outside China has increased 13-fold and the number of affected countries has tripled. 

There are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have lost their lives. 

Some countries are struggling with a lack of capacity. Some countries are struggling with a lack of resources. Some countries are struggling with a lack of resolve," Ghebreyesus said.