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‘We’re going to have more deaths.’ Coronavirus vs. the flu. Influenza kills more people so everyone is overreacting, right? Wrong — here’s why

Quotes from article:

Coronavirus. It’s just like the flu, isn’t it?

Hundreds of thousands of people die of the flu every year, and people need to calm down. In the U.S., people are stocking up on oat milk. Everyone should wash their hands for 20 seconds, elbow bump, stop buying face masks because they don’t protect against the virus, note that airplane air is filtered 20 to 30 times an hour, just avoid cruise ships, and relax. Right?

That appears to be the advice of some exasperated Americans on Twitter and Facebook FB, -4.99%in recent days who despair at the long lines outside Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods AMZN, -3.51%,and the panic buying and empty shelves at Costco COST, -1.26%. “Toilet paper is golden in an apocalypse,” one customer told MYNorthwest.com

‘This is additive, not in place of. Yes, the flu kills thousands of people every year, but we’re going to have more deaths.’

— —Amesh Adalja, a spokesman for the Infectious Diseases Society of America

Studies, however, suggest the differences between flu and coronavirus are more nuanced than some folks suggest. In fact, health professionals point out some very important differences between the COVID-19 epidemic and other viruses like the flu. For a start, there is no vaccine for COVID-19 and it could take many months or years. What’s worse, doctors fear the virus will mutate.


Why? The first known person was reported to have contracted the virus on Dec. 1 in China. Today, it’s spread to nearly 100 countries. COVID-19 is still a relatively unknown and experts advise changing your behavior to prevent its spread. The New York Health Department said people should avoid taking mass transit, if possible. Italy has effectively quarantined one quarter of the population.

“It’s a little simple to think the novel coronavirus is just like flu,” [BBM] Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the John Hopkins Center for Health Security and a spokesman for the Infectious Diseases Society of America, told MarketWatch. “We don’t want another flu. This is additive, not in place of. Yes, the flu kills thousands of people every year, but we’re going to have more deaths.”

There are some 1 billion cases of influenza worldwide; up to 45 million cases in the U.S. per year, tens of thousands of deaths in the U.S., and 291,000 to 646,000 deaths worldwide. Seasonal flu has a fatality rate of less than 1%; Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that figure is closer to 0.1%.

Influenza and COVID-19 come from a different family of viruses. COVID-19, also called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 or SARS-CoV-2 is brand new. Influenza has been around for more than 2,000 years. Scientists say the “novel influenza A viruses” in humans lead to a pandemic, approximately once every 40 years. But, again, flu vaccines exist.

To put that in perspective: The worst flu season on record in the U.S. (2017 to 2018) outside of a pandemic killed approximately 80,000 Americans. The four other coronavirus strains that already exist are responsible for around 25% of our common colds, Adalja added. “But it doesn’t seem like there is cross immunity with this coronavirus as there are with the other coronaviruses.”

While estimates vary on coronavirus fatality rates, they still remain far higher than the flu. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization, recently said that COVID-19 has a fatality rate of 3.4%. That’s more than previous estimates of between 1.4% and 2%, although some observers say his estimates were skewed by the higher death rate in China.

‘Because there’s no proven therapy or vaccine, as coronavirus spreads it threatens to put a much greater burden on health systems than flu does.’

— —Antigone Barton, editor of ScienceSpeaks

COVID-19 rates may fall closer to those of the flu, assuming many more people are infected. JAMA released this paper analyzing data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention on 72,314 COVID-19 cases in mainland China last month, the largest such sample of this kind. The sample’s overall case-fatality rate was 2.3%, in line with the earlier estimates.

Fatality rates also vary dramatically, depending on the individuals. No deaths occurred in those aged 9 years and younger, but cases in those aged 70 to 79 years had an 8% fatality rate and those aged 80 years and older had a fatality rate of 14.8%. The rate was 49% among critical cases, and elevated among those with preexisting conditions to between 5.6% and 10.3%, depending on the condition.

“While both the flu and COVID-19 may be transmitted in similar ways, there is also a possible difference: COVID-19 might be spread through the airborne route, meaning that tiny droplets remaining in the air could cause disease in others even after the ill person is no longer near,” Lisa Maragakis, senior director of infection prevention at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, Md., wrote. [BBM]

Of course, there are similarities between influenza and COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Both viruses are not treatable with antibiotics, and they have almost identical symptoms — fever, coughing, night sweats, aching bones, tiredness and, in the more severe cases of both viruses, nausea and even diarrhea. They can be spread by touch, coughing and sneezing.

Other differences between coronavirus and influenza lie in what we don’t know. Adults with the flu, which has an average incubation period of 2 days, can infect others 24 hours before symptoms develop and up to 5 to 7 days after becoming sick. The incubation period for coronavirus is estimated at between 2 and 14 days, but little is currently known about its period of contagiousness.

Coronavirus appears to be transmitted with ease to about 2.3 people by each person infected in the community and those who are asymptomatic, said Antigone Barton, editor of ScienceSpeaks. “Because there’s no proven therapy or vaccine, as coronavirus spreads, it threatens to put a much greater burden on health systems than flu does, and greater than most or many are prepared for.”[BBM]
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Info on hypertension being a key factor in making the virus fatal.

Pi Thoughts said:
A top Chinese doctor who has been treating seriously ill coronavirus patients in Wuhan believes hypertension may increase your changes of dying from the virus.

Du Bin is the director of Peking Union Medical College Hospital’s intensive care unit and was among a group of Chinese physicians sent to the virus epicentre to treat coronavirus cases two months ago.

In a group of 170 patients which died from COVID-19 in January nearly half had hypertension — a “very high ratio”, Dr Bin told Bloomberg.

“From what I was told by other doctors and the data I can see myself, among all the underlying diseases, hypertension is a key dangerous factor,” Dr Bin said.
‘Dangerous’ factor that makes virus fatal
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U.S. Coronavirus Cases Surpass 1,000: Full Map

Quotes from article:

The New York Times is engaged in a comprehensive effort to track details about every confirmed case in the United States, collecting information from federal, state and local officials around the clock. The numbers in this article are being updated several times a day based on the latest information our journalists are gathering from around the country.

The number of patients treated in the United States remains a small fraction of those with the virus overseas, where thousands of people have died and tens of thousands have been infected.

See our maps tracking the coronavirus outbreak around the world.
 
2 new Long Island coronavirus testing drive-throughs open on Long Island

Two new drive-through testing facilities opened on Long Island (New York) Wednesday, one in Nassau and one in Suffolk.

The latest state testing site opened at the southwest corner of Stony Brook University.

A private testing site also opened in Jericho Wednesday morning.

This opening follows the first drive-through site opened at Jones Beach Tuesday morning.

Officials say residents should not expect to just show up at these testing sites -- you must first call the state hotline and get an appointment.

To make a testing appointment you must call the state's coronavirus hotline at 1-888-364-3065.

The sites at Jones Beach and Stony Brook will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
 
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These are the Director General’s Opening Remarks Only. These transcripts do not include the VERY IMPORTANT Q&A sessions with Dr. Mike and Dr. Maria.

Here is the link for the full video briefings including all Q&As:

Press briefings

—
Opening Remarks:

6 April 2020
WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 6 April 2020

6 April 2020

““Good morning, good afternoon and good evening.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a heavy toll on families, communities and nations the world over.

But it’s also giving rise to incredible acts of generosity, solidarity and cooperation.

We have said consistently that we’re all in this together, and we can only succeed together. We need an all-of-society approach, with everyone playing their part.

That includes people in the entertainment industry.

Today I’m delighted to be joined by one of the biggest names in entertainment in the world - Lady Gaga, and by my friend Hugh Evans, the founder and CEO of Global Citizen.

WHO has been working with Global Citizen for several weeks on the “Together at Home” concert series, with artists like Chris Martin and John Legend giving free online performances.

Now we’re working with Lady Gaga and Global Citizen to take this concept and make it even bigger, through the “One World: Together at Home” virtual global special on Saturday, the 18th of April.

It’s now my great pleasure to invite Lady Gaga and Hugh Evans to say more about this very special event.

[LADY GAGA AND HUGH EVANS ADDRESSED THE PRESS CONFERENCE]

Once again, I’d like to thank Lady Gaga and Hugh Evans for their partnership and leadership. We had a call last week, and I was so amazed by the energy and passion of Lady Gaga, and her incredible commitment to humanity. That’s when I said I think what she has planned can happen to bring the world together, to raise awareness and mobilize resources to fight the pandemic. I thank her for incredible passion and leadership, and my friend Hugh Evans for joining the dots, and for his leadership.

We all look forward to joining you for the “One World: Together at Home” concert on the 18th of April.

As the pandemic continues, we recognize that individuals and governments want to do everything they can to protect themselves and others – and so do we.

We understand that some countries have recommended or are considering the use of both medical and non-medical masks in the general population to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

First and foremost, medical masks must be prioritized for health workers on the front lines of the response.

We know medical masks can help to protect health workers, but they’re in short supply globally.

We are concerned that the mass use of medical masks by the general population could exacerbate the shortage of these specialized masks for the people who need them most.

In some places, these shortages are putting health workers in real danger.

In health care facilities, WHO continues to recommend the use of medical masks, respirators and other personal protective equipment for health workers.

In the community, we recommend the use of medical masks by people who are sick and those who are caring for a sick person at home.

WHO has been evaluating the use of medical and non-medical masks for COVID-19 more widely.

Today, WHO is issuing guidance and criteria to support countries in making that decision.

For example, countries could consider using masks in communities where other measures such as cleaning hands and physical distancing are harder to achieve because of lack of water or cramped living conditions.

If masks are worn, they must be used safely and properly. WHO has guidance on how to put on, take off and dispose of masks.

What is clear is that there is limited research in this area.

We encourage countries that are considering the use of masks for the general population to study their effectiveness so we can all learn.

Most importantly, masks should only ever be used as part of a comprehensive package of interventions.

There is no black or white answer, and no silver bullet. Masks alone cannot stop the pandemic. Countries must continue to find, test, isolate and treat every case and trace every contact.

Mask or no mask, there are proven things all of us can do to protect ourselves and others – keep your distance, clean your hands, cough or sneeze into your elbow, and avoid touching your face.

Less than 100 days since WHO was notified about the new coronavirus, research has accelerated at incredible speed.

The viral genome was mapped in early January and shared globally, which enabled tests to be developed and vaccine research to start.

More than 70 countries have joined WHO's Solidarity Trial to accelerate the search for an effective treatment. And about 20 institutions and companies are racing to develop a vaccine.

WHO is committed to ensuring that as medicines and vaccines are developed, they are shared equitably with all countries and people.

I want to thank the Medicines Patent Pool and UNITAID for the initiative they announced last Friday to include medicines and diagnostics for COVID-19 in their licensing pool.

I also want to thank the President of Costa Rica, President Carlos Alvarado, and the Health Minister, Daniel Salas, for their proposal to create a pool of rights to tests, medicines and vaccines, with free access or licensing on reasonable and affordable terms for all countries. Muchas gracias, Mr President.

I support this proposal, and we are working with Costa Rica to finalize the details.

Poorer countries and fragile economies stand to face the biggest shock from this pandemic, and leaving anyone unprotected will only prolong the health crisis and harm economies more.

I call on all countries, companies and research institutions to support open data, open science and open collaboration so that all people can enjoy the benefits of science and research.

Finally, we are nearing the end of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. If there are no more cases, the government of DRC could declare the outbreak over as early as this Sunday.

We’re not there yet, and we remain on full response mode. We’re continuing to investigate alerts and to test samples.

This would not have been possible without the incredible health workers who have put themselves at risk for more than 18 months to stop this outbreak.

Just as health workers are putting themselves in danger to save lives from COVID-19, health workers in DRC faced the double threat of fighting a deadly virus in one of the world’s most dangerous and unstable regions – exposing themselves to Ebola and bullets.

Tomorrow is WHO’s birthday – a day we celebrate each year as World Health Day.

This year, we’re paying tribute to the incredible contribution of all health workers, especially nurses and midwives.

Nurses and midwives are the backbone of every health system. They’re there from the first moments of life to the last.

Tomorrow we are publishing our first report on the state of the world’s nursing, which highlights gaps and makes recommendations for all countries.

One of the lessons I hope the world learns from COVID-19 is that we must invest in health workers – not only to protect lives, but also to protect livelihoods.

Thank you.”

——

3 April 2020
WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 3 April 2020

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening.

As Tarik said, we’re delighted to be joined today by Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing-Director of the International Monetary Fund. Welcome, my sister.

Kristalina will say more in a few minutes about the economic impact of the pandemic and what the IMF is doing to support countries and the global economy.

More than 1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 have now been reported to WHO, including more than 50,000 deaths.

But we know that this is much more than a health crisis. We are all aware of the profound social and economic consequences of the pandemic.

The restrictions many countries have put in place to protect health are taking a heavy toll on the income of individuals and families, and the economies of communities and nations.

We are in a shared struggle to protect both lives and livelihoods.

In the short term, countries can ease the burden on their populations through social welfare programs to ensure people have food and other life essentials.

For some countries, debt relief is essential to enable them to take care of their people and avoid economic collapse. This is an area of cooperation between WHO, the IMF and the World Bank.

But ultimately, the best way for countries to end restrictions and ease their economic effects is to attack the virus, with the aggressive and comprehensive package of measures that we have spoken about many times before: find, test, isolate and treat every case, and trace every contact.

If countries rush to lift restrictions too quickly, the virus could resurge and the economic impact could be even more severe and prolonged.

Financing the health response is therefore an essential investment not just in saving lives, but in the longer-term social and economic recovery.

There are three main areas for countries to focus on.

First, we call on all countries to ensure core public health measures are fully funded, including case-finding, testing, contact tracing, collecting data, and communication and information campaigns.

Second, we also call on countries and partners to strengthen the foundations of health systems. That means health workers must be paid their salaries, and health facilities need a reliable supply of funding to purchase essential medical supplies.

Third, we call on all countries to remove financial barriers to care.

If people delay or forego care because they can’t afford it, they not only harm themselves, they make the pandemic harder to control and put society at risk.

Several countries are suspending user fees and providing free testing and care for COVID-19, regardless of a person’s insurance, citizenship, or residence status.

We encourage these measures. This is in an unprecedented crisis, which demands an unprecedented response.

Suspending user fees should be supported with measures to compensate providers for the loss of revenues.

Governments should also consider using cash transfers to the most vulnerable households to overcome barriers to access.

This may be particularly important for refugees, internally displaced persons, migrants and the homeless.

===

The pandemic is also having an effect on the fight against other diseases, like polio.

As you know, in recent years we have driven polio to the brink of eradication. This has been a massive global effort, started by Rotary, supported by many other partners, and led by thousands of health workers, vaccinating children in some very difficult and dangerous areas.

Many of those health workers are now supporting the COVID-19 response.

They are tracing contacts, finding cases and providing public health information to communities.

To reduce the risk of increasing transmission of COVID-19, the polio oversight board has made the hard decision to suspend house-to-house vaccination campaigns, knowing that this may lead to an increase in polio cases.

To reduce this risk, we will support countries to maintain essential immunization for all vaccine preventable diseases.

WHO has published guidance for countries on how to maintain essential health services even while responding to this crisis.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is working to ensure that once it is safe to do so, countries can be supported to rapidly restart polio vaccination campaigns.

While all our energy may be focused on COVID-19 now, our commitment to eradicating polio is unshakeable.

Sadly, there are reports from some countries of an increase in domestic violence since the COVID-19 outbreak began.

As people are asked to stay at home, the risk of intimate partner violence is likely to increase.

Women in abusive relationships are more likely to be exposed to violence, as are their children, as family members spend more time in close contact, and families cope with additional stress and potential economic or job losses.

Women may have less contact with family and friends who may provide support and protection from violence.

We call on countries to include services for addressing domestic violence as an essential service that must continue during the COVID-19 response.

If you are experiencing or at risk of domestic violence, speak to supportive family and friends, seek support from a hotline, or seek out local services for survivors.

Make a plan to protect yourself and your children any way you can. This could include having a neighbour, friend, relative, or shelter identified to go to should you need to leave the house immediately.

There is never any excuse for violence. We abhor all violence of all forms, at all times.

Finally, the global response to COVID-19 would not be possible without the generosity of countries and partners.

Two months ago, WHO issued its Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, with an initial ask of US$675 million to support the response.

I’m delighted to say that almost US$690 million has now been pledged or received. Of this amount, US$300 million has been given to support WHO’s work, and the rest has been given on a bilateral basis, or to other organizations involved in the response.

I’d like to thank the State of Kuwait, which today is becoming one of the largest donors, with a total of US$60 million.

WHO’s Solidarity Response Fund has now raised more than US$127 million from more than 219,000 individuals and organizations. I’d like to thank Tencent for its contribution of US$10 million.

I’m also pleased to announce that I have invited Unicef to join the Solidarity Response Fund. Unicef has extensive experience both in fundraising and in implementing programmes, and our partnership will help us to work together closely to save lives. Thank you so much, my sister Henrietta, for accepting my invitation.

We still have a long way to go in this fight. WHO is working every day with all countries and partners to save lives, and to mitigate the social and economic impact of the pandemic.

The IMF is a key partner, and I’d now like to hand the floor to my sister Kristalina to make a few remarks. Thank you so much for joining us Kristalina.

Thank you.”

—-

2 April 2020
WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the Mission briefing on COVID-19 - 2 April 2020

Good morning.

I’d like to begin by thanking Member States for last week’s briefing.

It was inspiring to hear from China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore about their experience and the lessons they have learned.

We plan to do another similar briefing in a few weeks’ time, when we will have even more experiences to share from Europe and elsewhere.

As I said at yesterday’s press conference, this is a new virus, and the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus – two firsts.

We are learning as we go, reviewing the evidence and adapting our recommendations as necessary.

In the next day or two, we will reach more than 1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally, and 50,000 deaths.

This virus, which was unknown to us three months ago, has exposed the weaknesses and inequities in our health systems and societies, our lack of preparedness, and the gaps in our supply chains and other essential systems.

We have to prepare our health systems for large numbers of cases, even as we maintain essential health services.

We know that when health systems are overwhelmed, mortality from vaccine-preventable and other treatable conditions will increase dramatically.

Gaps in essential care can result in many more deaths than the coronavirus itself.

WHO has recently published guidance on maintaining essential health services while responding to COVID-19.

This is one of more than 40 pieces of detailed, evidence-based guidance to guide countries in the response.

Every day, we are engaged in numerous discussions with our extensive networks of experts to refine our guidance to reflect the best science.

Our press conferences are a good way for us to highlight key messages for the world at large, but they are no substitute for technical guidance. We urge all countries to read and implement this guidance.

We also recognize the need to adapt our guidance for different settings, especially in the poorest and most vulnerable communities.

For example, we recommend handwashing and physical distancing, but we recognize that we need innovative solutions for communities that lack clean water, or live in cramped conditions.

WHO, UNICEF and the International Federation of the Red Cross is calling for countries to provide free public hand hygiene stations in areas without access to water and sanitizer.

We are already seeing the economic and social effects of this pandemic in high-income countries. In poor communities, those effects could be even more severe and long-lasting.

We are calling on governments to provide a social safety net, so that vulnerable people have food and other essentials during this crisis.

WHO, the World Bank and the IMF have united in a call for debt relief for developing countries, to enable them to implement those measures.

I am glad to report that our research and development efforts are moving quickly.

The Solidarity trial, which is assessing potential treatments for COVID-19, has already brought in 74 countries, which have either joined the trial or are in the process of joining.

More than 200 patients have been randomly assigned to one of the study arms.

Two months ago, we issued our first Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, with an initial ask of $675 million for the first three months of the response.

As of yesterday, I’m delighted to say that $677 million has been pledged or received.

Of that amount, $300 million has been pledged or received for WHO’s operations, and the remainder has been given to partners or bilaterally.

I want to put on record my deep gratitude to all Member States and partners for their generosity and solidarity.

But as you know, the pandemic is many times larger than it was in early February, and the global needs have also increased significantly.

WHO and partners will require much more support over the coming weeks and months, and we count on the continued support from governments, the private sector and the global community.

We are now finalizing the second SPRP, and we will be presenting more details shortly.

WHO is committed to working with all Member States to support you with the best evidence, to save lives.

I thank you.


—-


1 April 2020
WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 1 April 2020

“Good morning, good afternoon and good evening.

As we enter the fourth month since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am deeply concerned about the rapid escalation and global spread of infection.

Over the past 5 weeks, we have witnessed a near exponential growth in the number of new cases, reaching almost every country, territory and area.

The number of deaths has more than doubled in the past week. In the next few days we will reach 1 million confirmed cases, and 50 thousand deaths.

While relatively lower numbers of confirmed cases have been reported from Africa, and from Central and South America, we realize that COVID-19 could have serious social, economic and political consequences for these regions.

It is critical that we ensure these countries are well equipped to detect, test, isolate and treat cases, and identify contacts – I am encouraged to see that this is occurring in many countries, despite limited resources.

Many countries are asking people to stay at home and shutting down population movement, which can help to limit transmission of the virus, but can have unintended consequences for the poorest and most vulnerable people.

I have called on governments to put in place social welfare measures to ensure vulnerable people have food and other life essentials during this crisis.

In India, for example, Prime Minister Modi has announced a $24 billion package, including free food rations for 800 million disadvantaged people, cash transfers to 204 million poor women and free cooking gas for 80 million households for the next 3 months.

Many developing countries will struggle to implement social welfare programs of this nature. For those countries, debt relief is essential to enable them to take care of their people and avoid economic collapse.

This is a call from WHO, the World Bank and the IMF – debt relief for developing countries.

===

Three months ago, we knew almost nothing about this virus.

Collectively, we have learned an enormous amount.

And every day, we learn more.

WHO is committed to serving all people everywhere with the best evidence to protect their health.

WHO develops guidance based on the totality of evidence collected from around the world.

Every day, our staff talk to thousands of experts around the world to collect and distil that evidence and experience.

We constantly review and update our guidance as we learn more, and we are working to adapt it for specific contexts.

For example, we recommend handwashing and physical distancing, but we also recognize this can be a practical challenge for those who lack access to clean water, or who live in cramped conditions.

Together with Unicef and the International Federation of the Red Cross, we’ve published new guidance for improving access to handwashing.

The guidance recommends that countries set up handwashing stations at the entrance to public buildings, offices, bus stops and train stations.

We’re also working hard with researchers all over the world to generate the evidence about which medicines are most effective for treating COVID-19.

There has been an extraordinary response to our call for countries to join the Solidarity trial, which is comparing four drugs and drug combinations.

So far, 74 countries have either joined the trial or are in the process of joining.

As of this morning, more than 200 patients had been randomly assigned to one of the study arms.

Each new patient who joins the trial gets us one step closer to knowing which drugs work.

We’re also continuing to study the evidence about the use of masks.

WHO’s priority is that frontline health workers are able to access essential personal protective equipment, including medical masks and respirators.

That’s why we are continuing to work with governments and manufacturers to step up the production and distribution of personal protective equipment, including masks.

There’s an ongoing debate about the use of masks at the community level.

WHO recommends the use of medical masks for people who are sick and those caring for them.

However, in these circumstances, masks are only effective when combined with other protective measures.

WHO continues to gather all available evidence and continues to evaluate the potential use of masks more broadly to control COVID-19 transmission at the community level.

This is still a very new virus, and we are learning all the time.

As the pandemic evolves, so does the evidence, and so does our advice.

But what doesn’t change is WHO’s commitment to protecting the health of all people, based on the best science, without fear or favour.

I thank you.”

—-

30 March 2020
WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 30 March 2020

“Good morning, good afternoon and good evening, wherever you are.

The COVID-19 pandemic is straining health systems in many countries.

The rapidly increasing demand on health facilities and health workers threatens to leave some health systems overstretched and unable to operate effectively.

Previous outbreaks have demonstrated that when health systems are overwhelmed, deaths due to vaccine-preventable and treatable conditions increase dramatically.

Even though we're in the midst of a crisis, essential health services must continue. Babies are still being born, vaccines must still be delivered, and people still need life-saving treatment for a range of other diseases.

WHO has published guidelines to help countries balance the demands of responding directly to COVID-19, while maintaining essential health services.

This includes a set of targeted, immediate actions to reorganize and maintain access to high-quality essential health services, including routine vaccination; care during pregnancy and childbirth; treatment for infectious and noncommunicable diseases and mental health conditions; blood services, and more.

That includes ensuring an adequate health workforce to deal with the many health needs other than COVID-19.

For example, we’re pleased by the 20 000 health workers in the UK who have offered to return to work, and that other countries such as the Russian Federation are involving medical students and trainees in the response.

To help countries manage the surge in COVID-19 cases while maintaining essential services, WHO has also published a detailed, practical manual on how to set up and manage treatment centres for COVID-19.

The manual covers three major interventions:

First, how to set up screening and triage at health facilities, using a repurposed building or a tent.

Second, how to set up community facilities to care for mild patients;

And third, how to set up a treatment centre, by repurposing hospital wards or entire hospitals, or by setting up a new hospital in a tent.

The manual covers structural design, infection prevention and control measures, and ventilation systems.

This is a life-saving instruction manual to deal with the surge of cases that some countries are facing right now.

These facilities will also have longer-term benefits for health systems once the current crisis is over.

In addition to having facilities for patients, it’s also vital that countries have sufficient supplies of diagnostics, protective equipment and other medical supplies.

Ensuring free movement of essential health products is vital for saving lives and curbing the social and economic impacts of the pandemic.

Earlier today I spoke to trade ministers from the G20 countries about ways to address the chronic shortage of personal protective equipment and other essential medical supplies.

We call on countries to work with companies to increase production; to ensure the free movement of essential health products; and to ensure equitable distribution of those products, based on need.

Specific attention should be given to low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

In addition, WHO is working intensively with several partners to massively increase access to life-saving products, including diagnostics, PPE, medical oxygen, ventilators and more.

We understand that many countries are implementing measures that restrict the movement of people.

In implementing these measures, it’s vital to respect the dignity and welfare of all people.

It’s also important that governments keep their people informed about the intended duration of measures, and to provide support for older people, refugees, and other vulnerable groups.

Governments need to ensure the welfare of people who have lost their income and are in desperate need of food, sanitation and other essential services.

Countries should work hand-in-hand with communities to build trust and support resilience and mental health.

===

Two months ago, WHO published the Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, with an initial ask of 675 million US dollars to support countries to prepare for and respond to COVID-19.

We’re very grateful to the many countries and foundations who have contributed; more than 622 million dollars have been received so far, and we would like to thank the King Salman Center for Humanitarian Relief for its contribution of 10 million US dollars.

We continue to be encouraged by the signs of global solidarity to confront and overcome this common threat.

The commitment of G20 countries to work together to improve the production and equitable supply of essential products shows that the world is coming together.

Yesterday I sent a tweet with a single word: humility. Some people asked me why.

COVID-19 is reminding us how vulnerable we are, how connected we are and how dependent we are on each other.

In the eye of a storm like COVID, scientific and public health tools are essential, but so are humility and kindness.

With solidarity, humility and assuming the best of each other, we can – and will – overcome this together.

I thank you.”

—-

30 March 2020
WHO Director-Generals remarks for G20 trade ministers

“Excellencies,

Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity of joining you today.

As of this morning, more than 630,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported globally, and more than 30,000 deaths.

As you know, the pandemic has had severe impacts on many parts of life, including the global economy and trade.

But trade is also key to bringing the COVID-19 pandemic under control.

Ensuring free movement of essential health products is vital for saving lives and curbing the social and economic impacts of the pandemic.

Trade bans are proliferating. This is slowing the response and restricting countries from getting desperately needed supplies for diagnostic tests, protective gear for health workers, and critical equipment such as ventilators.

Newly erected trade barriers not only create potentially catastrophic slowdowns for the COVID-19 pandemic, but for other diseases and disorders.

The G20 countries are uniquely placed to resolve these issues.

There are several measures you can take to scale up the production, movement and distribution of critical medical products.

First, we call on countries to work with companies to increase production of essential medical supplies, for both their domestic markets and export;

We call on companies and wholesalers not to use the current crisis to hike prices;

And to share knowledge to broaden the production base.

And to consider using compulsory licenses where patent holders cannot meet demand at affordable prices.

Second, ensure the free movement of essential health products.

We call on all countries to keep borders open and refrain from implementing any policies that could disrupt supply chains, including export bans and stockpiling;

To maintain land, air and sea cargo capacity and prioritize transport of needed medical equipment and personnel;

To create priority “green lanes” for essential goods between countries;

And to streamline customs and market authorization procedures.

Third, equitable access.

Equity is critical. This applies to information, innovation, essential medical equipment and supplies, as well as medicines, vaccines, and diagnostics.

Clinical trials are now underway for both medicines to treat COVID-19, and vaccines to prevent it.

Once effective tools are developed, it’s vital that we collectively coordinate the availability, affordability and distribution to ensure those who are most in need get access as soon as possible.

Fourth, we must pay particular attention to countries in Africa and other low-income countries. Restrictive measures risk adversely impacting access to essential medical supplies for countries in Africa. We must work together to ensure we safeguard access to essential medical products for low-income countries including countries in Africa.

This pandemic reminds us that we have a shared destiny.

None of us, none of our health systems, none of our economies, operate in a vacuum.

We are interdependent. We cannot win without solidarity.

As long as COVID-19 persists in one country, it is a threat to all of us.

I thank you.”

—-

27 March 2020
WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 27 March 2020

“Good morning, good afternoon and good evening, wherever you are.

There are now more than half a million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 20,000 deaths.

These are tragic numbers, but let's also remember that around the world, more than 100,000 people have recovered.

Yesterday, I had the honour of addressing an extraordinary meeting of leaders from the G20 countries.

My message was threefold: we must fight, unite and ignite.

Fight to stop the virus with every resource at our disposal;

Unite to confront the pandemic together. We are one humanity, with one, common enemy. No country can fight alone; we can only fight together.

And ignite the industrial might and innovation of the G20 to produce and distribute the tools needed to save lives.

We must also make a promise to future generations, saying never again.

Viral outbreaks are a fact of life. How much damage they do is something we can influence.

I thank the G20 countries for their commitment to fight the pandemic, safeguard the global economy, address international trade disruptions and enhance global cooperation.

This is especially important for countries who are not part of the G20 but will be affected by decisions made by G20 countries.

Earlier today, we held a briefing with around 50 Ministers of Health from around the world at which China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore shared their experiences and the lessons they have learned.

Several common themes emerged about what has worked:

The need for early detection and isolation of confirmed cases;

Identification, follow-up and quarantine of contacts;

The need to optimize care;

And the need to communicate to build trust and engage communities in the fight.

Countries also expressed several common challenges.

The chronic global shortage of personal protective equipment is now one of the most urgent threats to our collective ability to save lives.

WHO has shipped almost 2 million individual items of protective gear to 74 countries that need it most, and we’re preparing to send a similar amount to a further 60 countries.

But much more is needed.

This problem can only be solved with international cooperation and international solidarity.

When health workers are at risk, we’re all at risk.

Health workers in low- and middle-income countries deserve the same protection as those in the wealthiest countries.

To support our call on all countries to conduct aggressive case-finding and testing, we’re also working urgently to massively increase the production and capacity for testing around the world.

One of the most important areas of international cooperation is research and development.

A vaccine is still at least 12 to 18 months away.

In the meantime, we recognize that there is an urgent need for therapeutics to treat patients and save lives.

Today we are delighted to announce that in Norway and Spain, the first patients will shortly be enrolled in the Solidarity Trial, which will compare the safety and effectiveness of four different drugs or drug combinations against COVID-19.

This is a historic trial which will dramatically cut the time needed to generate robust evidence about what drugs work.

More than 45 countries are contributing to the trial, and more have expressed interest. The more countries who join the trial, the faster we will have results.

In the meantime, we call on individuals and countries to refrain from using therapeutics that have not been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of COVID-19.

The history of medicine is strewn with examples of drugs that worked on paper, or in a test tube, but didn't work in humans or were actually harmful.

During the most recent Ebola epidemic, for example, some medicines that were thought to be effective were found not to be as effective as other medicines when they were compared during a clinical trial.

We must follow the evidence. There are no short-cuts.

We also need to ensure that using unproven drugs does not create a shortage of those medicines to treat diseases for which they have proven effective.

As the pandemic evolves and more countries are affected, we are learning more and more lessons about what works and what doesn't.

WHO is continuing to support all countries in the response.

We’ve published more than 40 guidance documents on our website, providing detailed, evidence-based recommendations for governments, hospitals, health workers, members of the public and more.

More than 1 million health workers have been trained through our courses on OpenWHo_Org. We will continue to train more.

We’re also delighted to report that the COVID-19 Solidarity Fund has now received donations of more than US$ 108 million in just two weeks, from 203,000 individuals and organizations.

Thank you to each and every one of you.

The English version of our WhatsApp Health Alert now has more than 12 million users globally, and the Arabic, French and Spanish versions were launched today. More languages will be added, including Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Kurdish, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Urdu, Swahili and more.

I’ve said before that crises like this bring out the best and worst in humanity.

We have recently seen an increase in scams, cyberattacks and impersonation using WHO, my name and COVID-19.

I am very grateful to those working in various national organizations providing critical cybersecurity intelligence to the WHO Cybersecurity team.

Thank you for your efforts to work with us to protect the health systems, health workers and members of the general public who rely on our information systems and digital tools. Special thanks to Microsoft for assisting on this.

I’d like to end with something Singapore’s Minister of Health, Gan Kim Yong, said during today’s briefing.

We are only at the beginning of this fight.

We need to stay calm, stay united and work together.

I thank you.”

—-

26 March 2020
WHO Director General's remarks at the G20 Extraordinary Leaders’ Summit on COVID-19 - 26 March 2020

“My brothers and sisters,

We come together to confront the defining health crisis of our time.

We are at war with a virus that threatens to tear us apart – if we let it.

Almost half a million people have already been infected, and more than 20,000 have lost their lives.

The pandemic is accelerating at an exponential rate.

The first 100 thousand cases took 67 days. The second 100 thousand took 11 days, the third 100 thousand took just 4 days and the fourth 100 thousand just 2 days.

Without aggressive action in all countries, millions could die.

The full social, economic and political fallout, only time will tell.

But we know that the price we end up paying depends on the choices we make now.

This is a global crisis that demands a global response.

Today, I have three requests for our esteemed leaders:

First, fight. Fight hard. Fight like hell.

Fight like your lives depend on it – because they do.

The best and only way to protect life, livelihoods and economies is to stop the virus.

No excuses. No regrets.

Thank you for the sacrifices your governments and people have already made.

Many of your countries have imposed drastic social and economic restrictions, shutting schools and businesses, and asking people to stay at home.

These measures will take some of the heat out of the epidemic, but they will not extinguish it.

We must do more.

We must immediately build, expand, train and deploy health workers to find, test, isolate and treat every case and trace every contact.

This is not an option; it’s an obligation.

Second, unite.

No country can solve this crisis alone.

We’re all in this together, and we will only get out of it together.

That means a paradigm shift in global solidarity – in sharing experiences, expertise and resources, and in working together to keep supply lines open, and supporting nations who need our support.

The global shortage of personal protective equipment is putting front-line responders in danger – and that puts all of us in danger.

We call on all of your nations to increase production, remove export bans and ensure equity of distribution.

Third, ignite.

Repurpose the industrial might of your nations for this effort.

Ignite global production for the tools we need to save lives now.

Ignite innovation for vaccines and therapeutics.

And ignite a global movement to ensure this never happens again.

The actions we take now will have consequences for decades to come.

COVID-19 is taking so much from us. But it is also giving us something: the opportunity to come together as one against a common threat, and to build a common future.

We may speak different tongues and adhere to different creeds, but we are made of the same stuff. We are one human race.

Fight.

Unite.

Ignite.

And let our singular resolve be: never again.

Shukran jazeelan, Your Majesty. Thank you so much.”

—-

Link to all WHO Director General Transcripts:
Speeches
 
https://rt.live/

These are up-to-date values for Rt, a key measure of how fast the virus is growing. It’s the average number of people who become infected by an infectious person. If Rt is above 1.0, the virus will spread quickly. When Rt is below 1.0, the virus will stop spreading.

SPOILER: 15 states are "green" at or below 1

The link also gives the trend line for each state.
 
“WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 8 April 2020

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening.

Tomorrow marks 100 days since WHO was notified of the first cases of “pneumonia with unknown cause” in China.

It’s incredible to reflect on how dramatically the world has changed, in such a short period of time.

Today I’d like to give an overview of what WHO has done in the past 100 days, and what we will be doing in the near future to alleviate suffering and save lives.

On the 1st of January, just hours after we were notified of the first cases, WHO activated its Incident Management Support Team, to coordinate our response at headquarters, regional and country level.

On the 5th of January, WHO officially notified all Member States of this new outbreak, and published a disease outbreak news on our website.

On the 10th of January, we issued a comprehensive package of guidance to countries on how to detect, test and manage potential cases, and protect health workers.

On the same day, we convened our strategic and technical advisory group on infectious hazards to review the situation.

We have been engaging with journalists since the beginning, responding to media enquiries around the clock.

We convened the emergency committee on the 22nd of January, and again a week later, after the first cases of human-to-human transmission were reported outside China, and declared a public health emergency of international concern – our highest level of alarm. At the time there were 98 cases outside China, and no deaths.

In February an international team of experts from Canada, China, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Nigeria, the Russian Federation, Singapore and the United States of America visited affected provinces in China to learn more about the virus, the outbreak and the response, and to glean lessons for the rest of the world.

In early February the United Nations Crisis Management Team was activated, to coordinate the entire machinery the UN to support countries as effectively as possible.

Since then, we have been working day and night in five key areas.

First, we’ve worked to support countries in building their capacity to prepare and respond.

Through WHO’s network of 6 regional offices and 150 country offices, we’ve worked closely with governments around the world to prepare their health systems for COVID-19, and to respond when cases arrive.

We issued a Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, which identified the major actions countries need to take, and the resources needed to carry them out.

Governments and partners rose to the challenge. More than US$800 million has been pledged or received for the response.

That includes more than US$140 million from more than 229,000 individuals and organizations raised through the Solidarity Response Fund, exceeding all our expectations, and showing true global solidarity.

I’d like to thank all donors for their support, including Apple for its contribution of US$10 million.

To ensure this money is used where it’s needed most, we’ve set up an online portal, to help partners match needs with funds.

Second, we’ve worked with numerous partners to provide accurate information and fight the infodemic.

We’ve published 50 pieces of technical guidance for the public, health workers and countries, providing evidence-based advice on every element of the response.

We activated our global expert networks to tap the world’s leading epidemiologists, clinicians, social-scientists, statisticians, virologists, risk communicators and others, to make our response truly global and capture all the support we need from all over the world, from WHO experts and other experts in many other institutions globally.

Our EPI-WIN team has adapted our advice for individuals and communities, health workers, employers and workers, faith-based organizations and more about how to protect themselves and others.

Through our daily situation reports and these regular press briefings, we have kept the world informed about the latest data, information and evidence.

We have held regular briefings with our Member States, to answer their questions, and learn from their experiences.

We have worked with numerous media and tech companies including Facebook, Google, Instagram, LinkedIn, Messenger, Pinterest, SnapChat, Tencent, TikTok, Twitter, Viber, WhatsApp, YouTube and more to counter myths and misinformation with reliable, evidence-based advice.

The WhatsApp chatbot now has more than 12 million followers and is available in 7 languages, including Hindi and Portuguese, which are launching today. The Viber chatbot has more than 2 million followers, in three languages and four more to launch next week, reaching out to the citizens of the world, the person in the street, informing them with the latest information we have.

Just in the past two days we convened an online workshop to crowdsource ideas from over 600 experts, institutions and individuals on ways to combat the infodemic.

We have worked with FIFA and some of the world’s biggest sports stars to promote clean hands and physical activity.

And since we announced the One World: Together at Home concert with Lady Gaga and Global Citizen on Monday, more TV networks and online platforms from around the world have contacted us offering to broadcast the concert. Lady Gaga has informed us she has already raised US$35 million.

Third, we’re working hard to ensure supplies of essential medical equipment for frontline health workers.

So far, we’ve shipped more than 2 million items of personal protective equipment to 133 countries, and we’re preparing to ship another 2 million items in the coming weeks.

We’ve sent more than 1 million diagnostic tests to 126 countries, in all regions, and we’re sourcing more.

But we know much more is needed. This is not enough.

So we’re working with the International Chamber of Commerce, the World Economic Forum and others in the private sector to ramp up the production and distribution of essential medical supplies.

Today we are launching the UN COVID-19 Supply Chain Task Force, to dramatically scale up the supply of these life-saving tools, and match supply with needs. I would like to use this opportunity to thank the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for brining all UN agencies together to contribute to the Supply Chain Task Force.

Fourth, we’re working to train and mobilize health workers.

More than 1.2 million people have enrolled in 6 courses in 43 languages on our OpenWHO .org platform. Our target is to train tens of millions, and we have all the readiness to train tens of millions, hundreds of millions.

Experts have been deployed around the world through WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network and our Emergency Medical Teams platform.

And fifth, we’ve accelerated research and development.

In February we brought more than 400 of the world’s leading researchers together to identify and accelerate research priorities.

We launched the Solidarity Trial, with more than 90 countries working together to find effective therapeutics as soon as possible.

To better understand the transmission, epidemiology and clinical features of the virus, we have developed research protocols that are being used in more than 40 countries, in a coordinated way.

We’re working with FIND to accelerate development and access to diagnostics.

Today, 130 scientists, funders and manufacturers from around the world have signed a statement committing to work with WHO to speed the development of a vaccine against COVID-19.

Of course, WHO is not alone. The UN is not alone. Every day, we work with thousands of partners in government, academia, the private sector, civil society and more.

There are many, many other things WHO has done in the past 100 days that I haven’t mentioned.

These five pillars will continue to be the foundation of our work.

In the coming days, WHO will be releasing an updated strategy, and a revised Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, with an estimate of the financial needs for the next phase of the response.

Throughout, our focus has been on working with countries and with partners to bring the world together to confront this common threat together.

We are especially concerned with protecting the world’s poorest and most vulnerable, not just in the poorest countries, but in all countries.

For the past 100 days, our unwavering commitment has been to serve all people of the world with equity, objectivity and neutrality.

And that will continue to be our sole focus in the days, weeks and months ahead.

Finally, this is a special time of year for Christians, Jews and Muslims around the world.

Today WHO has published practical considerations and recommendations for faith-based communities.

We know that COVID-19 means billions of believers are not able to celebrate in the way they usually would.

But we wish everyone a safe and joyful Easter, Passover and Ramadan.

Thank you.”

WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 8 April 2020
 
From April 13 WHO PC / Masks must be part of a comprehensive strategy / source:

BBM:

“Dr. Michael Ryan: (45:51)
There are issues around wearing those face coverings and disinfecting those face coverings and disposing of those face coverings or masks, and the fact that putting on and off those masks involves people often touching their face as well, and therefore it cannot be done outside the context of very clean hands and proper personal hygiene. And also masks are not an alternative to lockdown. And we’ve said this publicly again and again. WHO support countries who are wished to implement a more broad based strategy of mask wearing or face covering wearing, on a more on a broader basis, as long as it’s part of a comprehensive strategy, as long as it’s linked to the things we said before, community education, personal hygiene, a strategy to find, test and isolate cases.

If mask use added to that, then I think that WHO can see the value. But if mask use is used as an alternative to those public health strategies, it’s used as a reason not to do those other things, Then we believe that is the kind of policy that’s counterproductive. So we see mask use in the broader context of a comprehensive strategy and in that sense, will support member states who wish to introduce that as long as it does not take masks out of the healthcare environment, and people know how to wear them, know how to dispose of them and are doing all the other things that they need to do. Maria?

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove: (47:18)
Just to add, with the comprehensive strategy that Mike just mentioned, it includes also physical distancing, it includes hand hygiene, it includes respiratory etiquette, it includes staying home if you’re unwell, it includes cases being isolated, confirmed cases being isolated, it includes contacts being in quarantine, and it includes following the directives of the national governments if they are stay at home in orders in place. And of course overall, having an empowered community to know what they can do to protect themselves and their families. So as Mike has said, it’s part of a comprehensive approach. It cannot be used alone, but we support governments in making these decisions, and in our recent updated guidance, we’ve put some considerations that they may take into account when making these decisions.

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove: (48:07)
For example, if physical distancing is not possible in certain communities or certain populations, perhaps the use of a face covering or a nonmedical mask may be useful there. And so like Mike says, we support these decisions being made, but as part of a comprehensive approach.

Dr. Michael Ryan: (48:25)
And if I could just supplement, one of the consequences we really don’t want to see happen as lockdowns are eased, there is huge pressure on people to go back to work, to go back to school, to participate in daily life. I don’t want to be the person at home with a fever and with a job to go to where I can make a calculation that instead of picking up the phone and phoning my health provider or phoning the public health authorities and asking for a test and a diagnosis, that I think that putting a mask on is an adequate response to that situation.

And that is something we really have to be careful about. You may be inadvertently sick, you may not know, but it’s something we have to think about very, very carefully. And that’s why everything we do in public health or in health or in policy affects something else. So the pressures on people to go back to work are going to be very strong and very appropriate. But we don’t want people having to make difficult choices, and in some way think that putting a mask on is the same as staying home and reporting the fact that you’re sick to authorities.”
 
April 13 WHO PC /
Dr. Maria said that while the incubation period is up to 14 days, symptoms usually start occurring about 5 to 6 days after exposure:

BBM:

“Sarah: (37:51)
Thank you. I’m wondering what is the appropriate timeframe for someone to isolate if they think they might have been exposed? There seems to be this belief that 14 days is appropriate, but since the incubation period can be up to 14 days. Then if someone is not showing symptoms after 14 days, but does have the virus and doesn’t have access to a test, how long after that can a person have the illness and be contagious? And then in terms of the reactivation in people, based on your previous response, is it possible for the virus to be latent in someone or are we talking about re- infection?”

“Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove: (38:33)
Thank you for these questions. Yes, what we recommend for somebody who is exposed to an infected person is that they be followed, that they be quarantined for 14 days. Most people who are infected with COVID-19 will develop symptoms within five days. That’s the median time, five to six days. But it goes up to 14 days. So 14 days is a good marker. For individuals who are infected, your question was how long can they be contagious? And that’s the right question because when we actually test people who are infected with COVID-19, they have this molecular test, a PCR test, and they can be PCR positive four weeks, but that doesn’t actually mean that they’re contagious for weeks.

So what the PCR does is it measures fragments of the virus, parts of DNA of the COVID-19 virus that is detectable through this molecular test. But it doesn’t actually mean that you’re contagious for that long. What we’ve seen from some preliminary studies, and I’m referring to a study from Germany, is among some mild patients, I believe it was eight or nine mild patients, that they could find live virus for eight or nine days after symptom onset. What we need is much more data from countries to actually be able to say how long is someone contagious.

And so, right now what we have are these PCR tests which suggest that people with mild disease can be PCR positive for two to three weeks. What we need to understand is out two to three weeks, are those people still contagious? Again, this is another example where we don’t have the full picture, but there’s a lot of studies that are underway to give us those answers and so we hope to be able to get back to you with more details on that as soon as they’re available.”

Dr. Michael Ryan: (40:26)
“On the issue of reactivation and latent infection, there are many situations, particularly in viral infection where someone doesn’t clear the virus entirely from their system. It can happen in the case of immunocompromised people who are sick for other reasons, and then the virus can come back and attack the person again, and that’s sort of seen as reactivation. It’s usually that the virus was never property cleared. There are other situations where someone clears the virus but develops a secondary infection, a secondary bacterial infection, often an influenza, for example. It’s not the influenza infection that causes the problem. It’s very often the secondary bacterial pneumonia. The damage to the lungs and the inflammation create unfortunately an opportunity for bacteria that are normally non-pathogenic, they’re all over the place, but can actually exploit the fact that their lungs are weakened and you end up down with a very high fever again and very sick. But you’re actually not sick with the virus, now you’re sick with the bacterial infection. So there are many reasons why we might see reactivation of infection either with the same infection or with another infectious agents.

The issue of longterm, I think, transmission has been dealt with by Maria. There will always, always, always in health be exceptions. There will always be individuals who may transmit for longer. There may be individuals whose incubation period may be for longer, it may happen. There are outliers in every walk of life. We all know people who are given a year to live because of a cancer diagnosis and they live for 10 years. That doesn’t mean that everyone with that diagnosis live for 10 years. It means one person has lived for very much longer, but on average this is how long people survive. And I think we need to look at that.

These are averages. And then we look at the range around the average and we try to explain that this is likely where the longest or the shortest incubation periods are in reality. But there will always be a chance of an outlier. And I always say, we need to study the outliers. We need to study those who transmit for longer. We need to study those who don’t clear the infection properly because these are very significant events.”

Source / Apr 13 WHO Briefing
 
WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 15 April 2020

“Good morning, good afternoon and good evening, wherever you are.

When the nations of the world met to form the United Nations in 1945, one of the first things they discussed was establishing an organization to protect and promote the health of the world’s people.

They expressed that desire in the constitution of WHO, which says that the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being, without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.

That creed remains our vision today.

The United States of America has been a longstanding and generous friend to WHO, and we hope it will continue to be so.

We regret the decision of the President of the United States to order a halt in funding to the World Health Organization.

With support from the people and government of the United States, WHO works to improve the health of many of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.

WHO is not only fighting COVID-19. We’re also working to address polio, measles, malaria, Ebola, HIV, tuberculosis, malnutrition, cancer, diabetes, mental health and many other diseases and conditions.

We also work with countries to strengthen health systems and improve access to life-saving health services.

WHO is reviewing the impact on our work of any withdrawal of U.S. funding and will work with our partners to fill any financial gaps we face and to ensure our work continues uninterrupted.

Our commitment to public health, science and to serving all the people of the world without fear or favour remains absolute.

Our mission and mandate are to work with all nations equally, without regard to the size of their populations or economies.

COVID-19 does not discriminate between rich nations and poor, large nations and small. It does not discriminate between nationalities, ethnicities or ideologies.

Neither do we. This is a time for all of us to be united in our common struggle against a common threat – a dangerous enemy.

When we are divided, the virus exploits the cracks between us.

We are committed to serving the world’s people, and to accountability for the resources with which we are entrusted.

In due course, WHO’s performance in tackling this pandemic will be reviewed by WHO’s Member States and the independent bodies that are in place to ensure transparency and accountability. This is part of the usual process put in place by our Member States.

No doubt, areas for improvement will be identified and there will be lessons for all of us to learn.

But for now, our focus – my focus – is on stopping this virus and saving lives.

WHO is grateful to the many nations, organizations and individuals who have expressed their support and commitment to WHO in recent days, including their financial commitment.

We welcome this demonstration of global solidarity, because solidarity is the rule of the game to defeat COVID-19.

WHO is getting on with the job.

We are continuing to study this virus every moment of every day, we are learning from many countries about what works, and we are sharing that information with the world.

There are more than 1.5 million enrolments in WHO’s online courses through OpenWHo_Org, and we will continue to expand this platform to train many more millions so we can fight COVID effectively.

Today we launched a new course for health workers on how to put on and remove personal protective equipment.

Every day we bring together thousands of clinicians, epidemiologists, educators, researchers, lab technicians, infection prevention specialists and others to exchange knowledge on COVID-19.

Our technical guidance brings together the most up-to-date evidence for health ministers, health workers and individuals.

Yesterday I had the honour of speaking to heads of state and government from the 13 ASEAN-plus-three nations.

It was inspiring to hear their experiences, and their commitment to working together to secure a shared future.

As a result of their experience with SARS and avian influenza, these countries have put in place measures and systems that are now helping them to detect and respond to COVID-19.

We’re also continuing to work with partners all over the world to accelerate research and development.

More than 90 countries have joined or have expressed interest in joining the Solidarity Trial, and more than 900 patients have now been enrolled, to evaluate the safety and efficacy of four drugs and drug combinations.

Three vaccines have already started clinical trials, more than 70 others are in development, and we’re working with partners to accelerate the development, production and distribution of vaccines.

In addition to the Solidarity Trial, I am glad to say that WHO has convened groups of clinicians to look at the impact of corticosteroids and other anti-inflammatory drugs on treatment outcomes.

Specifically, we are looking at oxygen use and ventilation strategies in patients. Any intervention that reduces the need for ventilation and improves outcomes for critically ill patients is important – especially in low-resource settings, to save lives.

Last week I announced the United Nations Supply Chain Task Force, to scale up the distribution of essential medical equipment.

Yesterday the first United Nations Solidarity Flight took off, transporting personal protective equipment, ventilators and lab supplies to many countries across Africa.

The Solidarity Flight is part of a massive effort to ship lifesaving medical supplies to 95 countries across the globe, in conjunction with the World Food Programme and other agencies including Unicef, the Global Fund, Gavi, and the United Nations Department of Operational Support, Unitaid and others.

Whether it is by land, sea or air, WHO staff are working around the clock to deliver for health workers and communities everywhere.

I would like to thank the African Union, the governments of the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia, the Jack Ma Foundation and all our partners for their solidarity with African countries at this critical moment in history. I would like to thank President Ramaphosa and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, for their leadership.

The Solidarity Response Fund has now generated almost US$150 million from 240,000 individuals and organizations.

This Saturday, some of the biggest names in music are coming together for the One World: Together at Home concert, to generate further funds for the Solidarity Response Fund.

But not just to raise funds, to bring the world together, because we’re one world, one humanity fighting a common enemy. I thank Lady Gaga, Global Citizen and all that are collaborating to put this concert together.

We will continue to work with every country and every partner, to serve the people of the world, with a relentless commitment to science, solutions and solidarity.

Since the beginning, WHO has been fighting the pandemic with every ounce of our soul and spirit. We will continue to do that until the end. That’s our commitment to the whole world.

I thank you.”

WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 15 April 2020

—-

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