Good afternoon.
I’d like to start today by talking not about COVID-19, but about Syria.
Since the 1st of December, dozens of health facilities have suspended services in the Idleb and Aleppo areas. Out of nearly 550 health facilities in northwest Syria, only about half are operational.
Two attacks on health facilities took place yesterday afternoon, on two separate hospitals in Aleppo governorate. Luckily, there were no casualties.
We repeat: health facilities and health workers are not a legitimate target in conflict, and attacks on health are a breach of international law.
Nearly 900,000 people have been displaced, including half a million children. Children are particularly prone to hypothermia and respiratory tract infections, and due to lack of shelter, many of them are sleeping in the open with their families, exposed to the elements.
In the coming days, WHO is sending essential medicine and supplies across the border from Turkey to Syria. We are sending supplies for trauma, intensive and surgical care to Idleb and Aleppo governorates; in addition to drugs for non-communicable diseases and primary health care.
So although we are now devoting a lot of attention to COVID-19, WHO is still responding to many other emergencies around the world.
Let me now turn to the latest on COVID-19.
As of 6am Geneva time this morning, China has reported 72,528 cases to WHO, including 1870 deaths.
In the past 24 hours, China has reported 1,891 new cases, including both clinically- and lab-confirmed cases.
Outside China, there are now 804 cases in 25 countries, with three deaths.
In the past 24 hours, there have been 110 new cases outside China, including 99 on the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
We have now had cases of COVID-19 outside China for more than a month. We are supporting national authorities in every country that has cases to track the virus and understand how people were infected.
So far there are 92 cases in 12 countries outside China of human-to-human transmission.
At the moment we don’t have enough data on cases outside China to make a meaningful comparison on the severity of disease or the case fatality rate.
We’re following up with countries to get more information about what happens about each case and the outcome.
However, we have not yet seen the sustained local transmission, except in specific circumstances like the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
Yesterday I spoke to Singapore’s Minister of Health and we are very impressed with the efforts they are making to find every case, follow up with contacts, and stop transmission.
Singapore is leaving no stone unturned, testing every case of influenza-like illness and pneumonia. So far they have not found evidence of community transmission.
I also spoke to the Minister of Health of Malaysia to discuss the Westerdam case and other aspects of their preparations.
These signals show the importance of all countries being ready for the arrival of the virus, to treat patients with dignity and compassion, to protect health workers and to prevent onward transmission.
Many countries are taking steps to prepare themselves, with WHO support.
We’ve shipped supplies of personal protective equipment to 21 countries, and will ship to another 106 countries in the coming weeks.
By the end of this week, 40 countries in Africa and 29 in the Americas are due to have the ability to detect COVID-19.
Many of these countries have been sending samples to other countries for testing, waiting several days for results. Now they can do it themselves, within 24 to 48 hours.
Some countries in Africa including DRC are now leveraging the capacity they have built up to test for Ebola to test for COVID-19. This is a great example of how investing in health systems can pay dividends for health security.
Other countries like Namibia, Nigeria and Timor-Leste are running workshops with the media to ensure accurate and reliable reporting.
Several countries are prioritizing surveillance and monitoring at ports of entry, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Serbia and South Sudan.
We’re also working with partners in some of the most fragile contexts, from Syria to the Central African Republic to prepare countries for the arrival of the virus.
There are many other examples.
We still have a chance of preventing a broader global crisis.
WHO will continue working night and day with all countries to prepare them.
I thank you.