Thread by @WHO

Daily media briefing on #2019nCoV with @drtedros pscp.tv/w/cQwkCTI2MTAy…

@DrTedros "As of 6am Geneva time today, there were 28,060 confirmed #2019nCoV cases in #China, and 564 deaths.

Outside China, there are 225 cases in 24 countries, with 1 death."-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "Yesterday we launched our Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, asking for $675 million to invest in stopping the #2019nCoV outbreak"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1225100893248458754?s=20

@DrTedros "The @gatesfoundation has already made a generous contribution, #Japan has also made a contribution of $10 million & there are a lot of other signals of support"-@DrTedros #2019nCoV

https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1225066445966598148?s=20

"We expect more announcements in the coming days.
We welcome support from all donors big & small – every dollar counts"-@DrTedros #2019nCoV

@DrTedros "We are also mobilizing the full power of the @UN system. Yesterday I briefed the Secretary General @antonioguterres & other UN leaders & today we had a call with over 200 UN country representatives. This follows yesterday’s call with WHO country representatives"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @UN @antonioguterres "It’s hard to believe that just 2 months ago, the #2019nCoV virus was unknown to us. We have already learned so much about it. We know its DNA; it can be transmitted from person to person; those most at risk are older people & those with underlying health conditions"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @UN @antonioguterres "Having the genetic sequence of the #2019nCoV has enabled the rapid development of tests, and as I mentioned yesterday, we have shipped 250,000 tests to more than 70 laboratories around the world, and we’re training lab workers to use them"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @UN @antonioguterres "But there is still a lot we don’t know.

We don’t know the source of the #2019nCoV outbreak, we don’t know what its natural reservoir is and we don’t properly understand its transmissibility or severity.

To defeat this outbreak, we need answers to all those questions"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @UN @antonioguterres "And there are tools we don’t have. We have no vaccine to prevent infections, and no therapeutics to treat them.

To put it bluntly: we’re shadow-boxing. We need to bring the #2019nCoV out into the light so we can attack it properly"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @UN @antonioguterres "That’s why on February 11-12 we are convening a global research & innovation forum to identify research priorities & coordinate the international research effort.
This will be a meeting of scientists from all over the world, including 🇨🇳, both in person & virtually"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @UN @antonioguterres "The aim is to fast-track the development of effective diagnostic tests, vaccines and medicines.

One of the key challenges is coordinating research funders to support key priorities"-@DrTedros #2019nCoV

@DrTedros @UN @antonioguterres "A lot of donors want to help, but we need to direct them to support agreed priorities, rather than going off in different directions.
I have said we need to be led be facts not fear & science not rumours.
That’s exactly what we’re doing. We are letting science lead"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @UN @antonioguterres "But this is something WHO has been working on for years.
Following the West African #Ebola outbreak, we developed the WHO R&D Blueprint – a global strategy for developing drugs and vaccines before epidemics, and accelerating R&D activities during epidemics"-@DrTedros #2019nCoV

@DrTedros @UN @antonioguterres "It speeds up the availability of the medicines and technologies that save lives.

We’ve seen that with the rapid development of an #Ebola vaccine"-@DrTedros #2019nCoV

@DrTedros @UN @antonioguterres "But vaccines & therapeutics are not silver bullets & they will take time to develop. In the meantime, there are simple things everyone can do:
-wash your hands regularly and
-cover your nose and your mouth with your elbow when you cough or sneeze"-@DrTedros #2019nCoV

@DrTedros @UN @antonioguterres "Keeping the world safe is in our DNA. If countries invest now in prevention and research, we can avoid more #2019nCoV cases and more costs down the line"-@DrTedros