Thread by @kakape

#Covid19 press conference by @WHO starting now. In executive board room, so panel can spread out a bit more and observe #physicaldistancing.

@WHO .@DrTedros starts with more good news on #Ebola: more than a more since last case in the DRC. “If it stays that way, the outbreak will be declared over in less than a month's time.” Says the same spirit of solidarity is needed in fight against #covid19.

@WHO @DrTedros More than 200,000 cases of #Covid19 have now been reported and more 8000 people have lost their lives. More than 80% of cases are from two regions: Western Pacific and Europe.

@WHO @DrTedros Once again @drtedros repeats that countries need to do more than #physicaldistancing: “To suppress and control epidemics, countries must isolate, test, treat and trace. If they don’t, transmission chains can continue at a low level, then resurge"

@WHO @DrTedros Mentions South Korea again as positive example: “It didn’t surrender. It educated, empowered and engaged communities”, it “did exhaustive contact tracing and testing in selected areas and it isolated suspected cases in designated facilities rather than hospitals or at home."

@WHO @DrTedros At the peak there wore more than 800 #covid19 cases in South Korea. “Yesterday there were only 90 cases.” Lessons learned there should be applied in other countries.

@WHO @DrTedros "If health facilities are at risk of being overwhelmed, people with mild #covid19 disease can be cared for at home”, says @drtedros even though, he says, it is not ideal.

@WHO @DrTedros Mentions that first vaccine trial has started, just 60 days after genetic sequence of #SARSCoV2 was shared. "This is an incredible achievement."

@WHO @DrTedros Experimental treatments also being tested around the world, says @drtedros. This needs to be coordinated because many small trials may not give clear, strong evidence of what is most effective. "WHO and partners are organizing a study in many countries”, called SOLIDARITY trial.

@WHO @DrTedros SOLIDARITY trial provides simplified procedures so even overloaded hospitals can participate. Argentina, Bahrain, Canada, France, Iran, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand already confirmed to participate.

@WHO @DrTedros Q from Poland about testing: @DrMikeRyan says every suspect case should be tested, their contacts identified, followed and also tested if they show #covid19 symptoms.

@WHO @DrTedros @DrMikeRyan Question about situation in Africa. @DrMikeRyan says #covid19 case numbers in Africa are low. “It may be higher due to lack of detection, but within reason.” Africa still has major opportunity to avoid the worst and prepare health systems, he says.

@WHO @DrTedros @DrMikeRyan Every country with #covid19 clusters or community transmission "should seriously consider delaying or reducing mass gatherings”, particularly religious gatherings where people come together from far-flung places.

@WHO @DrTedros @DrMikeRyan How have sanctions affected Iran’s capacity to respond to #covid19 outbreak? @DrMikeRyan says “we are focused on providing lab supplies, reagents, PPE.” @DrTedros: “We hope we will have the needed solidarity to fight this enemy together."

@WHO @DrTedros @DrMikeRyan Q about death rates in Italy compared to other countries:
@DrMikeRyan points to testing. Germany testing many more cases, he says, and as a result detecting more mild cases. Also time: Deaths occur 2,3,4 weeks after infection and Italy experienced first wave of cases earlier.

@WHO @DrTedros @DrMikeRyan .@mvankerkhove adds that clusters can be different. In South Korea clusters connected to church skewed younger, so lower death rate. In Italy more older people amongst infected. Adds: We don’t know yet what happens in country with high HIV rate or malnourished children.

@WHO @DrTedros @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove More than 20 percent of deaths in South Korea were in younger people, says @DrMikeRyan. "This isn’t just a disease of the elderly.”

@WHO @DrTedros @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove Q about children: Can be infected, says @mvankerkhove, but data suggests that rarer than in adults. "We know children can develop disease and the disease is similar to adults, incl. fever, dry cough, fatigue, muscle pain”, she says.

@WHO @DrTedros @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove "The majority of children that are infected will experience mild disease, but that is not universal.”, says @mvankerkhove and mentions that one child inChina has died from #covid19.

@WHO @DrTedros @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove Why isn’t Europe testing more? @DrMikeRyan says he doesn’t believe that the problem is capacity, i.e. countries could test more. Comes down to strategy in part.

@WHO @DrTedros @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove Increasing the number of labs that can actually run #covid19 tests is important, whether public labs, private labs or academic labs, says @mvankerkhove. Also need to increase number of people that can do these tests.

@WHO @DrTedros @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove Details on SOLIDARITY trial for #covid19 treatment: adaptive design, countries can choose, drugs can be added, but starting with 5 arms.
- standard of care
- remdesivir
- lopinavir and ritonavir
- lopinavir, ritonavir and interferon-beta
- chloroquine

@WHO @DrTedros @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove @drmikeryan talking beautifully about Africa’s ability to succeed in fighting #covid19. Says the continent is better prepared than others because of past crises “to create coherent responses to biological threats”. Highlights community engagement. (WHO really earning the ‘W')

@WHO @DrTedros @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove .@drmikeryan says WHO would welcome any contribution to international system to supply PPEs and other needed equipment to countries in need.

@WHO @DrTedros @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove Q whether @WHO has thoughts on Trump referring to #sarscov2 as “Chinese virus”: @DrMikeRyan: "Viruses know no borders and they don’t care about your ethnicity, the color of your skin or how much money you have in the bank. It's really important that we are careful with language"

@WHO @DrTedros @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove “This is going to get a lot worse before it gets better”, says @mvankerkhove "We will get through this. And we will get through this together.” #covid19