Who Highlights Covid-19 Claims Over 8,000 People

World Health Organization’s Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday number of people infected by coronavirus, COVID19, around the world exceeded 200,000 with more than 8,000 deaths.

At a news conference in Geneva, he said 80 percent of overall cases were from two regions: Western Pacific and Europe. Ghebreyesus said many countries were facing escalating epidemics and were feeling overwhelmed. “We hear you. We know the tremendous difficulties you face and the enormous burden youآ‘re under. We understand the heart-wrenching choices you are having to make.

“We understand that different countries and communities are in different situations, with different levels of transmission,” he said. He said WHO was talking to ministers of health, heads of state, health workers, hospital managers, industry leaders and CEOs to help them prepare and prioritize, according to their specific situation. He addressed a clear message to people around the world. “Don’t assume your community won’t be affected. Prepare as if it will be. “Don’t assume you won’t be infected. Prepare as if you will be. But there is hope. There are many things all countries can do,” he said.

Ghebreyesus called for physical distancing measures like cancelling sporting events, concerts and other large gatherings. This “can help to slow transmission of the virus,” he added. “They can reduce the burden on the health system. And they can help to make epidemics manageable, allowing targeted and focused measures,” he said. “To suppress and control epidemics, countries must isolate, test, treat and trace,” he said.

If they don’t, he warned, transmission chains can continue at a low level, then resurge once physical distancing measures are lifted. Ghebreyesus commended South Korea which was facing accelerating community transmission but it did not give up.

South Korea “educated, empowered and engaged communities; It developed an innovative testing strategy and expanded lab capacity; It rationed the use of masks; It did exhaustive contact tracing and testing in selected areas; And it isolated suspected cases in designated facilities rather than hospitals or at home,” he said.

As a result, cases have been declining for weeks. At the peak there were more than 800 cases, and today the report was only 90 cases. WHO is working in solidarity with other countries with community transmission to apply the lessons learned in Korea and elsewhere, and adapt them to the local context.

 

SOURCE : TK

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