Thread by @WHO

Media briefing on #COVID19 with @DrTedros. #coronavirus pscp.tv/w/cUo_ajI2MTAy…

"The #COVID19 pandemic continues to take a massive toll not just on health, but on so many parts of life.

Yesterday, the Government of 🇯🇵 & the Intl. @Olympics Committee took a difficult but wise decision to postpone @Tokyo2020 Games"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

"I thank PM @AbeShinzo & the members of the @Olympics for making this sacrifice to protect the health of athletes, spectators & officials. We look forward to next year's Olympics & Paralympics, which we hope will be a bigger & better celebration of our shared humanity"-@DrTedros

"We have overcome many pandemics and crises before. We will overcome this one too.
The question is how large a price we will pay"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"Already we have lost more than 16,000 lives. We know we will lose more – how many more will be determined by the decisions we make and the actions we take"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"To slow the spread of #COVID19, many countries have introduced unprecedented measures, at significant social and economic cost – closing schools and businesses, cancelling sporting events and asking people to stay home and stay safe"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"We understand that these countries are now trying to assess when and how they will be able to ease these measures.
The answer depends on what countries do while these population-wide measures are in place"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"Asking people to stay at home and shutting down population movement is buying time and reducing the pressure on health systems.

But on their own, these measures will not extinguish epidemics"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"The point of these actions is to enable the more precise and targeted measures that are needed to stop transmission and save lives.

We call on all countries who have introduced so-called “lockdown” measures to use this time to attack the #coronavirus"-@DrTedros #COVID19

"You have created a 2nd window of opportunity. How will you use it?
-Expand, train & deploy your health care & public health workforce
-Implement a system to find every suspected case at community level
-Ramp up the production, capacity & availability of testing"-@DrTedros

"...
-Identify, adapt and equip facilities you will use to treat & isolate patients
-Develop a clear plan & process to quarantine contacts
-Refocus the whole of government on suppressing & controlling #COVID19"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

"These measures are the best way to suppress & stop transmission, so that when restrictions are lifted, the #coronavirus doesn’t resurge. The last thing any country needs is to open schools & businesses, only to be forced to close them again because of a resurgence"-@DrTedros

"Aggressive measures to find, isolate, test, treat and trace are not only the best and fastest way out of extreme social and economic restrictions – they’re also the best way to prevent them"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"More than 150 countries & territories still have fewer than 100 cases.
By taking the same aggressive actions now, these countries have the chance to prevent community transmission & avoid some of the more severe social & economic costs seen in other countries"-@DrTedros #COVID19

"This is especially relevant for many vulnerable countries whose health systems may collapse under the weight of the numbers of patients we've seen in some countries with community transmission"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"Together with our partners in the @UN, today we've launched the Global Humanitarian appeal, to support the most fragile countries who have already suffered years of acute humanitarian crises"-@DrTedros #COVID19

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1242813652505411585?s=20

"This [#COVID19] is much more than a health crisis, and we’re committed to working as one @UN to protect the world’s most vulnerable people from the virus, and its consequences"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

"We also welcome the Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire. We are all facing a common threat, and the only way to defeat it is by coming together as one humanity"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1242358187694710785?s=20

"We’re grateful to the over 200K individuals & orgs who have contributed to the #COVID19 Solidarity Response Fund. Since we launched it less than 2 weeks ago, the fund has raised over USD 95M. I offer my deep thanks to @GSK for its generous contribution of USD 10M"-@DrTedros

"Although we are especially concerned about vulnerable countries, all countries have vulnerable populations, incl. older people. Older people carry the collective wisdom of our societies. They are valued & valuable members of our families and communities"-@DrTedros #COVID19

"They [older people] are at higher risk of the more serious complications of #COVID19.
We are listening to older people and those who work with and for them, to identify how best we can support them"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

"We need to work together to protect older people from the #coronavirus, and to ensure their needs are being met – for food, fuel, prescription medication and human interaction"-@DrTedros #COVID19

"Physical distance doesn’t mean social distance.
We all need to check in regularly on older parents, neighbors, friends or relatives who live alone or in care homes in whatever way is possible, so they know how much they are loved and valued"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"The #COVID19 pandemic has highlighted the need for compelling & creative communications about public health.

Last year, WHO announced our first #HealthForAll Film Festival. The volume, quality and diversity of entries far surpassed our expectations"-@DrTedros

"We received 1,300+ entries from 110 countries & today we are announcing a short list of 45 excellent short films about vital health topics.
We're also announcing a distinguished panel of jurors who will judge the short list, with the winners to be announced in May"-@DrTedros

"We will be showing all the short-listed films in the coming weeks on our website and social media channels"-@DrTedros #Film4Health

"In these difficult times, film & other media are a powerful way not only of communicating important health messages, but of administering one of the most powerful medicines – hope"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #Film4Health

The full briefing on #COVID19 by @DrTedros 👇bit.ly/3boGAOs