Category Archives: World Health Organization

Caught in a superpower struggle: the inside story of the WHO’s response to coronavirus

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Caught between the US and China, the world health body has been unable to enforce compliance or information sharing

When a pandemic strikes, the world’s leading experts convene – physically or virtually – in a hi-tech chamber in the basement of the Geneva headquarters of the World Health Organization.

It is called the “strategic health operations centre”, or SHOC, an appropriately urgent acronym for a place where life and death decisions are taken, and it is where critical choices were made in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak.

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EU offers ‘heartfelt apology’ to Italy over coronavirus response

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Ursula von der Leyen voices regret as expert warns herd immunity still a way off in Europe

The EU has offered “a heartfelt apology” to Italy for letting it down at the start of the coronavirus crisis as fresh evidence emerged that few European countries are likely to have achieved herd immunity as they begin cautiously lifting their lockdowns.

As the World Health Organization warned that the continent remained firmly “in the eye of the storm”, the president of the European commission said on Thursday that truth was needed to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic – including political honesty.

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Coronavirus US live: Trump threatens to close Congress over ‘obstruction’

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Kari Paul here, logging out for the night. Below are some top stories to be aware of from the last few hours:

For those of us on the West Coast wondering “what’s next?” here is a pretty comprehensive look at what needs to be done to reopen California, written by two medical doctors.

In short, to reopen we will need much more access to testing so we can localize and isolate new cases of the virus, and restrictions on large gatherings will likely persist for awhile. In other words, we are all going to be working from home and washing our hands constantly for the foreseeable future.

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Health experts condemn Trump’s halting of funding to WHO

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Gates Foundation and Wellcome heads among those dismayed by ‘dangerous and short-sighted’ action amid coronavirus pandemic

Global health leaders have rounded on Donald Trump, warning that his decision to suspend funding to the World Health Organization is recklessly endangering the chances of ending the pandemic as fast as possible.

Experts said they were dismayed and appalled at the US president’s announcement, which will not only deprive the WHO of the resources it needs to lead the fight, but potentially undermine international collaboration between scientists.

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‘Crime against humanity’: Trump condemned for WHO funding freeze

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Timing of move during Covid-19 crisis is deplored by UN chief and experts who say it will cost lives

Leading health experts have labelled Donald Trump’s decision to cut funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) as a “crime against humanity” and a “damnable” act that will cost lives.

The move also drew a rebuke from the head of the United Nations, who said the WHO was “absolutely critical to the world’s efforts to win the war against Covid-19”.

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Trump turns against WHO to mask his own stark failings on Covid-19 crisis

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Dishonest decision to pull funding from World Health Organization will endanger public health

Donald Trump’s declared suspension of funding of the World Health Organization in the midst of a pandemic is confirmation – if any were needed – that he is in search of scapegoats for his administration’s much delayed and chaotic response to the crisis.

The US is the WHO’s biggest donor, with funding over $400m a year in both assessed contributions (membership fees) and donations – though it is actually $200m in arrears.

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Spain to begin return to work despite fears of resurgence

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Health minister says ban on non-essential workers leaving home was temporary, but country is ‘not de-escalating’

The Spanish government has defended its decision to allow some non-essential workers to return to their jobs in factories and construction sites this coming week despite warnings that any relaxation of confinement measures could lead to a rise in contagion.

The World Health Organization has said there could be a “deadly resurgence” of the coronavirus if countermeasures are lifted too soon, while one of the Spanish government’s own experts has said he thought it would have been sensible to keep non-essential workers at home for longer.

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WHO warned of transmission risk in January, despite Trump claims

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Notes to global health leaders on 10 and 11 January highlighted possible infection routes

The World Health Organization warned the US and other countries about the risk of human-to-human transmission of Covid-19 as early as 10 January, and urged precautions even though initial Chinese studies at that point had found no clear evidence of that route of infection.

Technical guidance notes seen by the Guardian and briefings by top WHO officials warned of potential human-to-human transmission and made clear that there was a threat of catching the disease through water droplets and contaminated surfaces, based on the experience of earlier coronavirus outbreaks, such as Sars and Mers.

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How coronavirus changed the world in three months – video

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In just three months, the coronavirus has turned the world upside down. But how did it play out so quickly? We take a look back to where it all began – from its origins in south east Asia, to its acceleration across Europe and the US. As the infection rate increased and countries went into lockdown, people began to find imaginative and inspiring ways of coping with our new reality

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Coronavirus: ‘each and every individual matters’, says WHO director – video

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WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the poorest from each community would struggle for their 'daily bread' as more and more countries implemented lockdowns of various degrees.  He added poverty was a global problem, not one unique to India, and governments should take each individual into account when implementing measures

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‘Everyone will be contaminated’: prisons face strict coronavirus controls

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New WHO guidelines are aimed at protecting one of the most vulnerable sectors of society from the spread of Covid-19

Prisons around the world can expect “huge mortality rates” from Covid-19 unless they take immediate action including screening for the disease, the World Health Organization has warned.

All visitors to prisons along with staff and new admissions should be subject to airport-style temperature testing and health assessments at point of entry, the agency has recommended under new guidelines published today.

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‘Test, test, test’: WHO calls for more coronavirus testing – video

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The World Health Organization director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, says he has a simple message to countries on how to deal with the coronavirus outbreak sweeping the globe: 'Test, test, test.' Speaking during a news conference on Monday he urged countries to test more suspected cases, warning that they 'cannot fight a fire blindfolded' 

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African nations impose stricter measures as coronavirus spreads

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Governments warn disease will cause huge challenges for continent’s health services

Countries across Africa have imposed wide-ranging and stringent new measures as the coronavirus begins to spread more rapidly across the continent.

Though the continent is still far behind Europe and Asia in the total numbers of Covid-19 cases, the disease has now reached about half of its countries. Algeria has 48 confirmed cases, Egypt 110, while South Africa has 62, according to the World Health Organization and national governments on Monday. Other countries have fewer cases, mostly in single figures.

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WHO director general: Europe is now at centre of coronavirus pandemic – video

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The director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has said Europe is now at the centre of the global coronavirus outbreak. In a press briefing at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday, he said Europe had more cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined apart from China

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WHO says threat of a coronavirus pandemic ‘very real’ – video

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The director general of the World Health Organization has said the threat of a Covid-19 pandemic has become ‘very real’, but added that the world ‘is not at the mercy of the virus’. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said of the four countries with the most cases, China is bringing its outbreak under control, and that there had also been a decline in new cases in South Korea. ‘The rule of the game is, never give up,’ he added

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Coronavirus live updates: number of confirmed cases in UK jumps to 85

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More cases in Scotland and Ireland, Italians in India test positive while Facebook says it will take down hoax claims

Two groups of Italian tourists were under quarantine in India today, with 16 testing positive for the coronavirus, prompting authorities to tighten controls.

Health minister Harsh Vardhan said that passengers on all international flights would now be screened, the AFP news agency reported.

This seems to be emerging a bit of a trend. Footage has appeared showing Iranian health workers dancing and singing in an effort to keep morale up as the country faces the worst coronavirus outbreak outside China.

Videos of medical staff and #coronavirus patients square dancing together in several "shelter hospitals" in #Wuhan have gone viral on Chinese social media.

"Square dancing helps to cheer them up and improve their immunity, which is beneficial for their recovery." pic.twitter.com/Kpqsyqclkj

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Coronavirus outbreak a pandemic ‘in all but name’, says expert

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While WHO says virus still containable, sudden cases in Iran and Italy causing alarm

The World Health Organization has played down fears of a coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world, despite sudden serious outbreaks in Italy and Iran, but some experts said they believed it was now inevitable.

“Using the word pandemic now does not fit the facts, but it may certainly cause fear,” said the WHO’s director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at a briefing.

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South Korea screens thousands of religious sect members for coronavirus

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Country confirms more than 430 cases as WHO head voices concern over fifth death in Iran

Thousands of members of a secretive religious sect in South Korea are being screened for the new coronavirus after more than 430 cases were confirmed in the country by officials, one of several fresh clusters of the disease globally.

More than 78,000 people around the world have been infected by the Covid-19 virus, with most cases in mainland China, though clusters that have unclear origins have emerged in Singapore, Iran and South Korea.

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Coronavirus: ‘Window of opportunity narrowing,’ says WHO director – video

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Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, has expressed concerned over the ‘narrowing window of opportunity’ to tackle Covid-19, and has urged the international community not to squander it. With four new cases in Iran, concern has increased about the epidemic spreading across the Middle East, and the sharp devaluation of the Iranian rial means it will be hard for its government to throw the same resources at the epidemic as China has

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Coronavirus: window of containment ‘narrowing’ after Iran deaths, WHO warns

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Virus is spreading in Middle East, with confirmed cases in Lebanon and Israel

Four Iranians have died after contracting the coronavirus, with health authorities warning it has spread to multiple cities, while Israel and Lebanon declared their first domestic cases as the deadly epidemic spreads across the Middle East.

Asked on Friday if the new cases put the crisis at a tipping point, the World Health Organization director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the “window of opportunity is narrowing, so we need to act quickly before it closes completely”.

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