Is Covid-19 an outbreak, an epidemic or a pandemic?

A map showing the distribution of Covid-2019 cases around the world on Feb 22, is displayed during a World Health Organization (WHO) news conference on the situation in Geneva, Switzerland, on Feb 28. WHO has not yet declared the outbreak as a pandemic (as of publication time). — Reuters

To understand what is a “pandemic”, we have to talk about what an outbreak, an epidemic and a pandemic mean, as well as the different levels of disease in a community.

When a certain disease is present at a relatively constant rate in a population within a certain geographical area, and remains at this rate, it is known as an endemic disease.