Thread by @WHO

Media briefing on #COVID19 with @DrTedros. #coronavirus pscp.tv/w/cUd9qjI2MTAy…

"Less than 6 months ago, WHO & @FIFAcom signed an agreement to work together to promote health through football. We didn’t know then what we know now – that a new virus would emerge that would bring many parts of society to a standstill – including the beautiful game"-@DrTedros

"Many football ⚽ matches have stopped – but our collaboration has become even more important during this difficult times. In fact, it’s given us the opportunity of working together more closely than we imagined"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"⚽ can reach millions of people, especially younger people, that public health officials cannot. Today it’s my great pleasure to welcome my brother Gianni Infantino, President of @FIFAcom, to talk about our joint campaign to “Pass the message to kick out #coronavirus”-@DrTedros

"I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank @FIFAcom for its generous contribution of 10 million U.S. dollars to the #COVID19 Solidarity Response Fund"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1240013023089229825?s=20

"To date, the #COVID19 fund has raised more than USD 70M from more than 187,000 individuals & organizations, to help #healthworkers on the front lines to do their life-saving work, treat patients & advance research for treatments & vaccines"-@DrTedros bit.ly/COVID19Donate

"I would also like to thank @tiktok_uk/@tiktok_us for its contribution of USD 10M dollars, and for its valuable support in helping to reach its large, young audience with reliable health information"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"Our new @WhatsApp Health Alert has now attracted 10 million users since we launched it last Friday, delivering reliable health information directly to their mobile phones. The Arabic, French and Spanish versions will launch this week"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1241111124994637825?s=20

"More than 300,000 cases of #COVID19 have now been reported to WHO, from almost every country in the 🌍.
The pandemic is accelerating.
It took 67 days from the 1st reported case to reach the first 100K cases, 11 days for the second 100K & just 4 days for the third 100K"-@DrTedros

"But we’re not prisoners to statistics. We’re not helpless bystanders. We can change the trajectory of the #COVID19 pandemic.
Numbers matter, because they’re not just numbers. They’re people, whose lives and families have been turned upside down"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

"What matters most is what we do. You can't win a ⚽ game only by defending. You have to attack as well.
Asking people to #StayHome & other physical distancing measures are important to slow down the spread of the #coronavirus & buy time, but they're defensive measures"-@DrTedros

"To win, we need to attack the #coronavirus with aggressive and targeted tactics – testing every suspected #COVID19 case, isolating and caring for every confirmed case, and tracing and quarantining every close contact"-@DrTedros

"We recognize that some countries are struggling with the capacity to carry out these offensive measures.
Several countries have shown that mobilizing resources internally from less-affected regions is one way to increase capacity"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"We’re also grateful that several countries have sent Emergency Medical Teams to care for patients & train #healthworkers in other countries that need support.
This is an incredible example of international solidarity. But it’s not an accident"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"WHO has been working with countries for years to build a network of Emergency Medical Teams for exactly this eventuality, to provide surge capacity of high-quality health professionals who can be deployed to care for patients and save lives"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"#HealthWorkers can only do their jobs effectively when they can do their jobs safely.

We continue to hear alarming reports from around the world of large numbers of infections among health workers"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"Even if we do everything else right, if we don’t prioritize protecting #healthworkers, many people will die because the health worker who could have saved their life is sick"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"WHO has been working hard with many partners to rationalize and prioritize the use of personal protective equipment.

Addressing the global shortage of these life-saving tools means addressing every part of the supply chain, from raw materials to finished product"-@DrTedros

"Measures put in place to slow the spread of the virus may have unintended consequences by exacerbating shortages of essential protective gear, and the materials needed to make them"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"Solving this problem requires political coordination at the 🌍 level. I will be addressing heads of state from the G20 countries. I will be asking them to work together to increase production, avoid export bans & ensure equity of distribution on the basis of need"-@DrTedros

"We also recognize that there is a desperate need for effective therapeutics. There is currently no treatment that has been proven to be effective against #COVID19.
It’s great to see the level of energy now being directed to research against COVID-19"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

"Small, observational & non-randomized studies will not give us the answers we need. Using untested 💊 without the right evidence could raise false hope & even do more harm than good & cause a shortage of essential 💊 that are needed to treat other diseases"-@DrTedros #COVID19

"That’s why WHO has launched the SOLIDARITY trial, to generate robust, high-quality evidence as fast as possible.
The more countries sign up to the trial & other large studies, the faster we will get results on which drugs work, & the more lives we will be able to save"-@DrTedros

"I’d like to end by reminding everyone that although #COVID19 is dominating the world’s attention, there’s another respiratory disease that is both preventable and treatable, but which kills 1.5 million people every year. It’s #tuberculosis"-@DrTedros

"Tomorrow is #WorldTBDay – an opportunity to remind world leaders of the commitments they have made to end the suffering and death caused by this ancient and terrible disease"-@DrTedros #EndTB

"The world is rightly responding to #COVID19 with urgency and purpose. We call on the global community to harness that same urgency and purpose for the fight against #tuberculosis – and for a healthier, safer, fairer world for everyone"-@DrTedros #EndTB

"The rule of the game to kick #COVID19 out is solidarity"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

The full briefing on #COVID19 by @DrTedros 👇 bit.ly/2Ugz3M5