Thread by @WHO

Daily media briefing on #COVID19 with @DrTedros pscp.tv/w/cRqqbzI2MTAy…

@DrTedros "As of 6am GVA time today, #China has reported 70,635 cases of #COVID19 to WHO, including 1772 deaths.

In the past 24 hours 🇨🇳 has reported 2051 new cases, which includes both clinically- & lab-confirmed cases.

94% of new cases continue to come from Hubei province"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "Outside #China, WHO has received reports of 694 #COVID19 cases from 25 countries & three deaths.

As more data comes in from 🇨🇳, we’re starting to get a clearer picture of the outbreak, how it’s developing & where it could be headed"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

@DrTedros "Today #China has published a paper with detailed data on over 44,000 confirmed cases of #COVID19.

These data give us a better understanding about the age range of people affected, the severity of the disease and the mortality rate"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

@DrTedros "They [the data] are very important in enabling WHO to provide good evidence-based advice to countries. We encourage all countries to share their data publicly"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

@DrTedros "The data also appear to show a decline in new #COVID19 cases. This trend must be interpreted very cautiously. Trends can change as new populations are affected"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

@DrTedros "It’s too early to tell if this reported decline will continue. Every scenario is still on the table.

It also appears that #COVID19 is not as deadly as other coronaviruses including SARS and MERS"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

@DrTedros "Over 80% of patients have mild #COVID19 & will recover.

In about 14% of cases, the virus causes severe disease, including pneumonia & shortness of breath.

And about 5% of patients have critical disease incl. respiratory failure, septic shock & multi-organ failure"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "In 2% of reported #COVID19 cases, the virus is fatal & the risk of death increases the older you are. We see relatively few cases among children. More research is needed to understand why.
These new data address some of the gaps in our understanding, but others remain"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "The international team of experts now on the ground in #China is working with Chinese counterparts to better understand address those gaps and improve our understanding of the #COVID19 outbreak"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

@DrTedros "We thank all partners who have made their experts available through the GOARN framework"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

@DrTedros "WHO is continuing to work night and day on several fronts to prepare countries. We’re sending testing kits to laboratories around the 🌍"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

@DrTedros "We’re protecting #healthworkers by sending personal protective equipment to many countries & working with manufacturers to ensure supply.
We’re training health workers.
We’re providing advice to countries on how to do screening, testing, contact tracing & treatment"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "We’ve put out a call for $675 million to support countries to prepare. I thank those donors who have contributed.

We have a window of opportunity.

We don’t know how long it will remain open.

Let’s not squander it"-@DrTedros #COVID19

@DrTedros The full briefing on #COVID19 by @DrTedros 👇bit.ly/2uSvX6W