Rolling updates on coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Rolling updates on coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Updated 29 February 2020

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Summary

• A pneumonia of unknown cause detected in Wuhan, China was first reported to the WHO Country Office in China on 31 December 2019.

• WHO is working 24/7 to analyse data, provide advice, coordinate with partners, help countries prepare, increase supplies and manage expert networks.

• The outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020.

• The international community has asked for US$675 million to help protect states with weaker health systems as part of its Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan.

• On 11 February 2020, WHO announced a name for the new coronavirus disease: COVID-19.

• To stay up to date, follow @DrTedros and @WHO on Twitter, read WHO’s daily situation reports and watch our regular press conferences.

What every individual can do to protect themselves and others 

28 February 2020

In a daily COVID-19 press briefing the WHO Director-General said that more than 20 vaccines are in development globally, and several therapeutics are in clinical trials. But we don’t need to wait for vaccines and therapeutics. There are things every individual can do to protect themselves and others today.

Key materials

What every country should be asking itself 

27 February 2020

Discussing preparedness for COVID-19, the WHO Director-General listed questions every health minister should be able to answer. Here are a selection: 

  • Are we ready for the first case? 
  • Do we have enough medical oxygen, ventilators and other vital equipment?
  • How will we know if there are cases in other areas of the country?
  • Do our health workers have the training and equipment they need to stay safe?
  • Do we have the right measures at airports and border crossings to test people who are sick?
  • Do our labs have the right chemicals that allow them to test samples?
  • Are we ready to treat patients with severe or critical disease?
  • Do our hospitals and clinics have the right procedures to prevent and control infections?
  • Do our people have the right information? Do they know what the disease looks like?

Key materials:

 

Get your workplace ready for COVID-19 

26 February 2020

WHO has issued new COVID-19 guidance for businesses and employers, which outlines simple ways to prevent the spread of the virus, things to consider when employees travel and how to get your business ready in case COVID-19 arrives in your community. 

Key materials:

Workplace guidance

 

#AskWHO about COVID-19 

26 February 2020

Watch Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's technical lead on the new coronavirus, answer questions from the public about COVID-19. She begins by explaining how the virus spreads and how to protect yourself from COVID-19. Dr Van Kerkhove was a member of the recent joint mission of experts to China to learn more about the outbreak.

Key materials:

WHO advice on how to protect yourself

 

Do your part to stop stigma and combat COVID-19

25 February 2020

The WHO Director-General has repeatedly called for "solidarity, not stigma" to address COVID-19. 

WHO has worked with UNICEF and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on a guide to preventing and addressing the social stigma associated with the disease. 

It's vital to fight stigma because it can drive people to hide the illness, not seek health care immediately and discourage them from adopting healthy behaviours. 

This guide includes some tips and messages, as well as dos and don'ts on language when talking about COVID-19. 

Key materials:

Guide to preventing and addressing social stigma

 

WHO-China joint mission shares findings and recommendations

25 February 2020

The team of 25 international and Chinese experts travelled to several different provinces, with a small group going to Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.

Among the team's findings was that the epidemic peaked and plateaued between the 23rd of January and the 2nd of February, and has been declining steadily since then. The team also estimates that the measures taken in China have averted a significant number of cases.

In a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday 25 February, Dr Bruce Aylward, the mission's lead, reported back on what China has done, its impact and implications. 

Key materials:

 

WHO-led team of experts travel to Italy

24 February 2020

A team of experts from WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) will focus on: understanding how events developed, learning from the Italian experience and supporting control and prevention efforts by the authorities.

To limit further human to human transmission, WHO experts will provide support in the areas of clinical management, infection prevention and control, surveillance and risk communication.

Key materials:

WHO Regional Office for Europe news release

 

UN Secretary-General visits WHO

24 February 2020

UN Secretary-General António Guterres met with the WHO Director-General and other WHO leaders, receiving a briefing on COVID-19, Ebola and polio. He expressed great admiration for health workers, including in China, who are working tirelessly to save lives. The UN Secretary-General also stressed that there is no space for stigma and discrimination and said we must be guided by science and human rights-based interventions.

 

WHO leaders address AU and Africa CDC Emergency Meeting

22 February 2020

WHO’s Director-General and Regional Director for Africa addressed an emergency meeting of ministers of health to agree on a continental strategy for Africa to strengthen preparedness and responses to the COVID-19 outbreak.

 

11 000 African health care workers have been trained on COVID-19

22 February 2020

During the past month about 11 000 African health workers have been trained using WHO’s online courses on COVID-19, which are available free of charge in English, French & other languages.

 

Special envoys on COVID-19 selected

21 February 2020

The WHO Director-General appointed six special envoys on COVID-19, to provide strategic advice and high-level political advocacy and engagement in different parts of the world.

The six envoys are:

  • Professor Dr Maha El Rabbat, former Minister of Health of Egypt;
  • Dr David Nabarro, former special adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Climate Change;
  • Dr John Nkengasong, Director of the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention;
  • Dr Mirta Roses, former Director of the WHO Region of the Americas;
  • Dr Shin Young-soo, former Regional Director of the WHO Region of the Western Pacific;
  • Professor Samba Sow, Director-General of the Center for Vaccine Development in Mali.

Key materials:

WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the 21 February 2020 media briefing

 

WHO Director-General warns that the window of opportunity is “narrowing”

21 February 2020

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasised that the window of opportunity to contain the outbreak is “narrowing” and that the international community needs to act quickly, including through financing.

 

WHO and countries are engaged in massive preparedness activities

18 February 2020

WHO has shipped supplies of personal protective equipment to 21 countries.

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.

Key materials:

 

WHO issues guidance on mass gathering and taking care of ill travellers

17 February 2020

Based on lessons from H1N1 and Ebola, WHO has outlined planning considerations for organizers of mass gatherings, in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. It has also issued advice on how to detect and take care of ill travellers, who are suspected COVID-19 cases.

Interim guidance: 

 

WHO Director-General calls for solidarity at Munich Security Conference

15 February 2020

"We must be guided by solidarity, not stigma. The greatest enemy we face is not the virus itself; it’s the stigma that turns us against each other. We must stop stigma and hate."

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on the international community to use the window of opportunity to prepare for COVID-19 at the Munich Security Conference, a leading global forum on preeminent crises and future security challenges. 

Key materials: 

 

UN activates WHO-led Crisis Management Team

12 February 2020

The Crisis Management Team (CMT) mechanism brings together WHO, OCHA, IMO, UNICEF, ICAO, WFP, FAO, the World Bank and several UN Secretariat departments.

The CMT will be managed by the Executive Director of WHO Health Emergencies Programme, Dr Mike Ryan. It will help WHO focus on the health response while the other agencies will bring their expertise to bear on the wider social, economic and developmental implications of the outbreak.

Key materials:

Situation report - 23

 

Research and innovation forum sets priorities for COVID-19 research

12 February 2020 

More than 400 experts and funders met at WHO’s Geneva HQ to accelerate research to stop the COVID-19 outbreak. Featuring updates from the frontlines of the response in China, the meeting addressed issues such as: developing easy-to-apply diagnostics, accelerating existing vaccine candidates and preventing infection.

Key materials: 

 

Novel coronavirus disease named COVID-19

11 February 2020

Guidelines mandated that the name of the disease could not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual or group of people. It also needed to relate to the disease and be pronounceable. This choice will help guard against the use of other names that might be inaccurate or stigmatizing.

 

Global community asks for US$675 million to help protect vulnerable countries from outbreak

5 February 2020

With the 2019-nCoV outbreak set to test the resilience of countries, the US$675 million Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) aims to protect states with weaker health systems.

Covering areas ranging from international coordination to country readiness to research and innovation, the SPRP aims to limit transmission, provide early care, communicate key information and minimize social and economic impacts.

Key materials:

 

Public Health Emergency of International Concern declared

30 January 2020

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the 2019-nCoV outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, following a second meeting of the Emergency Committee convened under the International Health Regulations.

Acknowledging that cases have been reported in five WHO regions in one month, the Committee noted that early detection, isolating and treating cases, contact tracing and social distancing measures – in line with the level of risk – can all work to interrupt virus spread. 

 

Key materials: 

 

WHO and China leaders meet in Beijing to discuss coronavirus outbreak

28 January 2020

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing about the coronavirus outbreak.

Dr Tedros was joined by WHO Regional Director Dr Takeshi Kasai and Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme Dr Mike Ryan, and also met State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi and Minister of Health Ma Xiaowei.

The discussions focused on continued collaboration on containment measures in Wuhan, public health measures in other cities and provinces, conducting further studies on the severity and transmissibility of the virus, continuing to share data, and for China to share biological material with WHO. These measures will advance scientific understanding of the virus and contribute to the development of medical countermeasures such as vaccines and treatments.

The two sides agreed that WHO would send international experts to visit China as soon as possible to work with Chinese counterparts on increasing understanding of the outbreak to guide global response efforts.

Key materials:

News release

 

Launch of free online introductory course on the novel coronavirus

25 January 2020

Covering topics such as why the novel coronavirus is a global threat to human health and how to effectively engage communities in the response, this free online course gives an introduction to the novel coronavirus. It is available for free and online in English, French, Spanish and Chinese.

WHO_nCoV_Introductory Video from openWHO on Vimeo

Key materials:

OpenWHO course: Emerging respiratory viruses, including nCoV: methods for detection, prevention, response and control

 

First meeting of Emergency Committee regarding the novel coronavirus outbreak

23 January 2020

On 22-23 February, the WHO Director General convened the Emergency Committee to consider the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China, with cases also reported in the Republic of Korea, Japan, Thailand and Singapore.

Several Committee members considered it still too early to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), given its restrictive and binary nature. Among other recommendations, the Committee advised that it be recalled in approximately 10 days.

Key materials:

Statement on the first meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee

 

WHO makes field visit to Wuhan, China

21 January 2020

The delegation observed and discussed active surveillance processes, temperature screening at Wuhan Tianhe airport, laboratory facilities, infection prevention and control measures at Zhongnan hospital and its associated fever clinics, and the deployment of a test kit to detect the virus.

The delegation also discussed public communication efforts and China's plan to expand the case definition for the novel coronavirus, which will build a clearer picture of the spectrum of severity of the virus.

At the end of the visit, the Chinese Government released the primers and probes used in the test kit for the novel coronavirus to help other countries detect it. Chinese experts also shared a range of protocols that will be used in developing international guidelines, including case definitions, clinical management protocols and infection control.

Key materials:

Statement

 

First case of novel coronavirus outside of China confirmed

13 January 2020

Officials confirmed a case of the novel coronavirus in Thailand. It was not unexpected that cases of the novel coronavirus would emerge outside of China and reinforces why WHO calls for active monitoring and preparedness in other countries.

Key materials:

News release

 

China makes genome sequencing of novel coronavirus publicly available

12 January 2020

China shares the genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus, which will be very important for other countries as they develop specific diagnostic kits.

Key materials:

Disease outbreak news item

 

WHO issues its first guidance on the novel coronavirus

10 January 2020

Developed with reference to other coronaviruses, such as SARS and MERS, WHO issued a tool for countries to check their ability to detect and respond to a novel coronavirus.

This information is to help with identifying main gaps, assessing risks and planning for additional investigations, response and control actions.

Key materials:

National capacities review tool

 

WHO reports on pneumonia of unknown cause in China

5 January 2020

WHO published its risk assessment and advice and reported on the status of patients and the public health response by national authorities to the cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan. 

Key materials:

Disease outbreak news item

 

WHO responding to a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan

4 January 2020

WHO announced it would work across its 3 levels – country office, regional office and HQ – to track the situation and share details as they emerged. 

 

Pneumonia of unknown cause reported to WHO China Office

31 December 2019

At the close of 2019, the WHO China Country Office was informed of a pneumonia of unknown cause, detected in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, China. According to the authorities, some patients were operating dealers or vendors in the Huanan Seafood market.

Staying in close contact with national authorities, WHO began monitoring the situation and requested further information on the laboratory tests performed and the different diagnoses considered.

Key materials:

Disease outbreak news item