Thread by @WHO

Media briefing on #COVID19 with @DrTedros. #coronavirus pscp.tv/w/cUzMTDI2MTAy…

"There are now more than 1/2 a million confirmed cases of #COVID19 & more than 20,000 deaths.
These are tragic numbers, but let's also remember that around the 🌍, there are hundreds of thousands of survivors"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

"Yesterday, I had the honour of addressing an extraordinary meeting of leaders from the @g20org countries.

My message was threefold: we must fight, unite & ignite"-@DrTedros #COVID19

https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1243232696782000128?s=20

"Fight to stop the #coronavirus with every resource at our disposal;

Unite to confront the #COVID19 pandemic together. We are one humanity, with one, common enemy. No country can fight alone; we can only fight together"-@DrTedros

"And ignite the industrial might and innovation of the @g20org to produce and distribute the tools needed to save lives.

We must also make a promise to future generations: never again"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"Viral outbreaks are a fact of life. How much damage they do is something we can influence. I thank the @g20org countries for their commitment to fight the #COVID19 pandemic, safeguard the 🌍 economy, address intl. trade disruptions & enhance global cooperation"-@DrTedros

"This is especially important for countries who are not part of the @g20org but will be affected by decisions made by G20 countries"-@DrTedros #COVID19

https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1243234676606730240?s=20

"Earlier today, we held a briefing with around 50 Ministers of Health from around the world at which 🇨🇳🇯🇵🇰🇷& 🇸🇬 shared their experiences and the lessons they have learned"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"Several common themes emerged about what has worked:
-The need for early detection & isolation of confirmed cases
-Identification, follow-up & quarantine of contacts
-The need to optimize care
-The need to communicate to build trust & engage communities in the fight"-@DrTedros

"Countries also expressed several common challenges.

The chronic global shortage of personal protective equipment is now one of the most urgent threats to our collective ability to save lives"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"WHO has shipped almost 2M individual items of protective gear to 74 countries that need it most & we’re preparing to send a similar amount to a further 60 countries.
But much more is needed. This problem can only be solved with intl cooperation & solidarity. "-@DrTedros #COVID19

"When #healthworkers are at risk, we’re all at risk.

Health workers in low- & middle-income countries deserve the same protection as those in the wealthiest countries"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"To support our call on all countries to conduct aggressive case-finding and testing, we’re also working urgently to massively increase the production and capacity for testing around the world"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"A vaccine is still at least 18 months away.

In the meantime, we recognize that there is an urgent need for therapeutics to treat patients & save lives"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"Today we are delighted to announce that today in 🇳🇴 & 🇪🇸, the first patients will shortly be enrolled in the Solidarity Trial, which will compare the safety & effectiveness of four different drugs or drug combinations against #COVID19"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

"This is a historic trial which will dramatically cut the time needed to generate robust evidence about what 💊 work. Over 45 countries are contributing to the trial & more have expressed interest. The more countries who join the trial, the faster we will have results"-@DrTedros

"In the meantime, we call on individuals & countries to refrain from using therapeutics that have not been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of #COVID19"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

"The history of medicine is strewn with examples of drugs that worked on paper, or in a test tube, but didn't work in humans or were actually harmful"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"During the most recent #Ebola epidemic, for example, some medicines that were thought to be effective were found not to be as effective as other medicines when they were compared during a clinical trial.

We must follow the evidence. There are no shortcuts"-@DrTedros #COVID19

"As the #COVID19 pandemic evolves & more countries are affected, we are learning more about what works & what doesn't"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

"WHO is continuing to support all countries in the response.
We’ve published more than 40 guidance documents on our website, providing detailed, evidence-based recommendations for governments, hospitals, health workers, members of the public & more"-@DrTedros

"More than 1 million health workers have been trained through our courses on OpenWHO.org. We will continue to train more"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"We’re also delighted to report that the #COVID19 Solidarity Fund has now received donations of more than USD 108M, from 203,000 individuals & organizations.

Thank you to each and every one of you"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1243296952047058945?s=20

"The English version of our @WhatsApp Health Alert now has more than 12 million users, and the Arabic, French and Spanish versions were launched today. More languages will be added, incl Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Kurdish, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Urdu & more"-@DrTedros #COVID19

"I’ve said before that crises like this bring out the best & worst in humanity.
We have recently seen an increase in scams, cyberattacks & impersonation using WHO, my name & #COVID19"-@DrTedros #coronavirus

"I am very grateful to those working in various national organizations providing critical cybersecurity intelligence to the WHO Cybersecurity team"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

"Thank you for your efforts to work with us to protect the health systems, #healthworkers and members of the general public who rely on our information systems and digital tools"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronaviru who.int/COVID-19

"I’d like to end with something Singapore’s Minister of Health, @GANKIMYONG, said during today’s briefing.

We are only at the beginning of this fight.

We need to stay calm, stay united and work together"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus

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