niman Posted February 21, 2020 Report Posted February 21, 2020 Dear journalists, You are invited to attend a WHO Virtual Press briefing (VPC) on COVID-19. Below are the dial- in details for the VPC at WHO in Geneva. Time: Feb 21, 2020 16:00 CET Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/470860753 Please ensure you enter your name and media outlet. (use name/outlet) To ask a question, please click "raise hand" and this will enter you into the queue for questions. Please make sure you have a microphone connected or active on your computer. Please do not ask questions via the chat as we can not guarantee that we will see them and be able to incorporate them into the q&a session. Meeting ID: 470 860 753 To join by phone, chose the location nearest you from the list below. To ask a question by phone push *9 on your keypad. This will enter you into the queue for questions. You will be asked to identify yourself and your media outlet before asking your question. Kindly note, only questions from media will be allowed during the press conference. Meeting ID: 470 860 753 +41 31 528 09 88 Switzerland +41 43 210 70 42 Switzerland +41 43 210 71 08 Switzerland 0 800 002 622 Switzerland Toll-free 0 800 561 252 Switzerland Toll-free One tap mobile from CH: +41432107042,,470860753# Switzerland +41432107108,,470860753# Switzerland +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose) 877 853 5257 US Toll-free 888 475 4499 US Toll-free One tap mobile from US: +16699009128,,470860753# US (San Jose) +16465588656,,470860753# US (New York) +44 203 481 5237 United Kingdom +44 203 481 5240 United Kingdom +44 131 460 1196 United Kingdom +44 203 051 2874 United Kingdom 0 800 031 5717 United Kingdom Toll-free 0 800 260 5801 United Kingdom Toll-free 0 800 358 2817 United Kingdom Toll-free +213 98 24 02 675 Algeria +244 226 425 5009 Angola +61 2 8015 6011 Australia +61 3 7018 2005 Australia +61 8 7150 1149 Australia 1800 317 562 Australia Toll-free 1800 893 423 Australia Toll-free 1800 945 157 Australia Toll-free +43 670 309 0165 Austria +43 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551 7702 South Africa 0 800 008 728 South Africa Toll-free 0 800 064 584 South Africa Toll-free +386 1600 3102 Slovenia +386 1888 8788 Slovenia 0 80 488 840 Slovenia Toll-free +34 84 368 5025 Spain +34 91 787 0058 Spain +34 917 873 431 Spain 800 654 404 Spain Toll-free 800 906 063 Spain Toll-free 900 053 647 Spain Toll-free +94 7 2091 0374 Sri Lanka 112 029 070 Sri Lanka Toll-free +46 8 4468 2488 Sweden +46 8 5052 0017 Sweden +46 850 539 728 Sweden 0 200 123 514 Sweden Toll-free 0 200 123 720 Sweden Toll-free 0 808 110 091 Tanzania, United Republic of Toll-free +66 2018 2486 Thailand +66 60 003 5790 Thailand 1 800 012 275 Thailand Toll-free 1 800 013 864 Thailand Toll-free +216 31 397 748 Tunisia 0 800 501 567 Ukraine Toll-free 0 800 800 138 Ukraine Toll-free 800 035 704 239 United Arab Emirates Toll-free 800 035 704 555 United Arab Emirates Toll-free 800 0491 0899 United Arab Emirates Toll-free 0 800 100 5564 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) Toll-free +84 28 4458 2373 Viet Nam 1203 2625 Viet Nam Toll-free 1228 0906 Viet Nam Toll-free 1800 400 332 Viet Nam Toll-free +263 864 404 1086 Zimbabwe Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/aepNhBXj4V Join by SIP [email protected] join by Skype for Business https://zoom.us/skype/470860753 Reminder that you can link to WHO updates on COVID-19 here: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 Best Regards, WHO Media Team
niman Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Posted February 21, 2020 Acknowledges 18 COVID cases Iran
niman Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Posted February 21, 2020 Iran and Lebanon health care system?
niman Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Posted February 21, 2020 Have basic capacity to detect COVID WHO office in Cairo has contacted and offered assistance to Iran and Lebanon
niman Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Posted February 21, 2020 South Korea, Singapore,and Japan community transmission Working with these countries Have seen rapid increases in SARS and MERS to be used for COVID to determine if community transmission
niman Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Posted February 21, 2020 China changed from lab to Clinical confirmed and now back to lab confirmed in Wuhan caused confusion Need numbers for action and why in constant discussion with China
niman Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Posted February 21, 2020 India and Diamond Princess crew positives Will look at lessons learned
niman Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Posted February 21, 2020 Window of opportunity closing? Iran likely have more than confirmed Canada and Lebanon ex-Iran Cases not linked to China very worrisome 45F in Lebanon linked to Iran very concerning Window of opportunity narrowing Countries need to act quickly
niman Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Posted February 21, 2020 (edited) Misinformation on internet causing fear Working with Google, Facebook and Amazon to help direct concerns to WHO and CDC Lab origin misinformation concerning Scientific report refuting claim of lab origin Edited February 21, 2020 by niman
niman Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Posted February 21, 2020 China and workers beginning to go back to work WHO still believes can contain COVID However, need to prepare for spread Opportunity being squandered by lack of support China should take precautions proportional to risk
niman Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Posted February 21, 2020 In China 200 cases from prisons had been excluded Experts dealing with issues Iran and Lebanon Getting info but needs more
niman Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Posted February 21, 2020 Do clusters not linked to China signal a pandemic? Situations evolving with different patterns in different places Still evaluating to see if another phase has begun
niman Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Posted February 21, 2020 Iran concerns Will US sanctions hinder actions Virus sequence stable Iran rapid increase in a few days raise questions on levels in Iran Emergency operations usually excluded from sanctions
niman Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Posted February 21, 2020 Action review on Diamond Princess Working on it
niman Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Posted February 21, 2020 At what point is window of opportunity closed Don't want to pre-empt scientific experts Working on it
niman Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Posted February 21, 2020 No WHO press conferences slated for the weekend AT THIS TIME
Admin Posted February 21, 2020 Report Posted February 21, 2020 WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 on 21 February 2020 21 February 2020 Good afternoon everyone. Let me begin, as always, with the latest numbers. As of 6am Geneva time this morning, China has reported a total of 75,567 cases of COVID-19 to WHO, including 2,239 deaths. In the past 24 hours, China has reported 892 new confirmed cases, and 118 deaths. The significant decline in new confirmed cases is partly due to another change in the way China reports numbers. As you know, last week China started reporting clinically-diagnosed cases, in addition to laboratory-confirmed cases. They have now switched back to reporting only suspected and lab-confirmed cases. This may indicate that the health system in Wuhan have regained the ability to test all suspected cases. As a result, some cases that had been clinically-confirmed have now been subtracted from the total because they have tested negative. Although the number of cases in Hubei province continues declining, we are concerned about an increase in the number of cases in Shandong province, and we are seeking more information about that. Outside China, there are now 1152 cases in 26 countries, and 8 deaths. Although the total number of cases outside China remains relatively small, we are concerned about the number of cases with no clear epidemiological link, such as travel history to China or contact with a confirmed case. Apart from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, the Republic of Korea now has the most cases outside China, and we’re working closely with the government to fully understand the transmission dynamics that led to this increase. We are also concerned about the increase in cases in the Islamic Republic of Iran, where there are now 18 cases and four deaths in just the past two days. WHO has supplied testing kits, and will continue to provide further support. Our concern continues to be the potential for COVID-19 to spread in countries with weaker health systems. Tomorrow I will address an emergency meeting of African health ministers, held jointly by the African Union and the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, the WHO-led joint mission in China has been working in Beijing, Sichuan and Guangdong, and will travel to Wuhan tomorrow to continue its work at the epicenter of the outbreak. We are working with all partners under the GOARN network to safeguard the health of the members of the team, and to take appropriate measures when they return to their countries of origin. I’m also pleased to announce that today we are appointing six special envoys on COVID-19, to provide strategic advice and high-level political advocacy and engagement in different parts of the world. I’m pleased that the following eminent individuals have accepted my invitation to act in this role: 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; And Professor Samba Sow, Director-General of the Center for Vaccine Development in Mali. As I said yesterday, WHO’s key role is coordinating the global response to the epidemic, and our new special envoys will help us to do that. This is another step we are taking to take advantage of the window of opportunity we have to contain this outbreak. Once again, the measures China and other countries have taken have given us a fighting chance of containing the spread of the virus. We call on all countries to continue their containment measures, while preparing for community transmission if it occurs. We must not look back and regret that we failed to take advantage of the window of opportunity that we have now. I thank you. https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19-on-21-february-2020
Good afternoon everyone. Let me begin, as always, with the latest numbers. As of 6am Geneva time this morning, China has reported a total of 75,567 cases of COVID-19 to WHO, including 2,239 deaths. In the past 24 hours, China has reported 892 new confirmed cases, and 118 deaths. The significant decline in new confirmed cases is partly due to another change in the way China reports numbers. As you know, last week China started reporting clinically-diagnosed cases, in addition to laboratory-confirmed cases. They have now switched back to reporting only suspected and lab-confirmed cases. This may indicate that the health system in Wuhan have regained the ability to test all suspected cases. As a result, some cases that had been clinically-confirmed have now been subtracted from the total because they have tested negative. Although the number of cases in Hubei province continues declining, we are concerned about an increase in the number of cases in Shandong province, and we are seeking more information about that. Outside China, there are now 1152 cases in 26 countries, and 8 deaths. Although the total number of cases outside China remains relatively small, we are concerned about the number of cases with no clear epidemiological link, such as travel history to China or contact with a confirmed case. Apart from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, the Republic of Korea now has the most cases outside China, and we’re working closely with the government to fully understand the transmission dynamics that led to this increase. We are also concerned about the increase in cases in the Islamic Republic of Iran, where there are now 18 cases and four deaths in just the past two days. WHO has supplied testing kits, and will continue to provide further support. Our concern continues to be the potential for COVID-19 to spread in countries with weaker health systems. Tomorrow I will address an emergency meeting of African health ministers, held jointly by the African Union and the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, the WHO-led joint mission in China has been working in Beijing, Sichuan and Guangdong, and will travel to Wuhan tomorrow to continue its work at the epicenter of the outbreak. We are working with all partners under the GOARN network to safeguard the health of the members of the team, and to take appropriate measures when they return to their countries of origin. I’m also pleased to announce that today we are appointing six special envoys on COVID-19, to provide strategic advice and high-level political advocacy and engagement in different parts of the world. I’m pleased that the following eminent individuals have accepted my invitation to act in this role: 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; And Professor Samba Sow, Director-General of the Center for Vaccine Development in Mali. As I said yesterday, WHO’s key role is coordinating the global response to the epidemic, and our new special envoys will help us to do that. This is another step we are taking to take advantage of the window of opportunity we have to contain this outbreak. Once again, the measures China and other countries have taken have given us a fighting chance of containing the spread of the virus. We call on all countries to continue their containment measures, while preparing for community transmission if it occurs. We must not look back and regret that we failed to take advantage of the window of opportunity that we have now. I thank you. https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19-on-21-february-2020
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