Thread by @kakape

“What’s clear is that this is not just a virus that kills people. To a significant number of people, this virus poses a range of serious long-term effects”, says @drtedros at @WHO presser on #covid19. "While people do recover, it can be slow, sometimes weeks or months…"

@DrTedros @WHO Exact numbers of #COVID19 long-haulers are not clear yet, says @drtedros. “WHO will continue to do more research to establish best standards of care to accelerate recovery and prevent such complications."

@DrTedros @WHO “For months, I went through cyclical bouts of dreadful fatigue, sweats, headaches, unable to move, mood swings, and that went on for months. And then I had another three months, completely exhausted”, says @PaulGarnerWoof, himself an infectious disease epidemiologist @LSTMnews.

@DrTedros @WHO @PaulGarnerWoof @LSTMnews Garner says he thought he would be able to brush off the disease, but is only now improving in the last two weeks. "I never thought I would have seven months of my life wiped out by this virus, it's just gone”, says @PaulGarnerWoof.

@DrTedros @WHO @PaulGarnerWoof @LSTMnews Martha Sibanda from Johannesburg says she fell sick with #covid19 in June, went to the ICU for eight days and was put on high-flow oxygen. Four months later she is still suffering. "I still struggle with shortness of breath. I haven't been back to work”, she says.

@DrTedros @WHO @PaulGarnerWoof @LSTMnews Lyth Hishmeh (@lythb7), 26, from UK says he caught #covid19 in March. The doctor said he should be fine. “Unfortunately he was very wrong.” Hishmeh says he is still suffering from long-term sequelae and still cannot do his work as a software engineer.

@DrTedros @WHO @PaulGarnerWoof @LSTMnews @Lythb7 “Almost eight months now, and I'm still suffering from fatigue, brain fog, chest pain, heart palpitations, digestive issues,
Short term memory loss”, says @Lythb7 “There is no system in my body that hasn't been affected."

@DrTedros @WHO @PaulGarnerWoof @LSTMnews @Lythb7 "Listening to Paul, Martha and Lyth share their experiences and array of symptoms, it really reinforces what a dangerous virus #COVID19 is”, says @DrTedros. “It also reinforces how morally unconscionable and unfeasible the so called 'natural herd immunity’ strategy is."

@DrTedros @WHO @PaulGarnerWoof @LSTMnews @Lythb7 Emergency Committee met and reiterated that "it’s important for governments and citizens to keep focused on breaking the chains of transmission”, says @drtedros. “Governments should focus on tackling the virus and avoid politicisation."

@DrTedros @WHO @PaulGarnerWoof @LSTMnews @Lythb7 WHO still working to establish origins of the virus, says @drtedros. "Today, a group of international experts had their first virtual meeting with their Chinese counterparts."

@DrTedros @WHO @PaulGarnerWoof @LSTMnews @Lythb7 Q about misinformation and how to stop it if it comes from powerful individuals like Trump.
“It is difficult enough with good information to generate the appropriate behaviors, without having conflicting information”, says @DrMikeRyan.

@DrTedros @WHO @PaulGarnerWoof @LSTMnews @Lythb7 @DrMikeRyan “We call for open clear, consistent communications at all levels”, says @DrMikeRyan. “Everyone is responsible for this from presidents to people on the street... It is our responsibility to ensure that we pass on good information to others.”

@DrTedros @WHO @PaulGarnerWoof @LSTMnews @Lythb7 @DrMikeRyan Q: what can help deal with resurgences?
"We know that cluster investigations help us bring outbreaks that seem overwhelming under control and break chains of transmission”, says @mvankerkhove. “That workforce that is being built across the world needs to continue to be built.“

@DrTedros @WHO @PaulGarnerWoof @LSTMnews @Lythb7 @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove "Physical distancing works, hand hygiene works, the wearing of masks works”, says @mvankerkhove, also mentions ventilation. Stresses that it’s not about one measure alone, but combining them.

@DrTedros @WHO @PaulGarnerWoof @LSTMnews @Lythb7 @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove Q about quarantine
“Your chance of being exposed during the travel process is actually relatively low because of all the measures that have been taken”, says @DrMikeRyan. "The problem we face is what we do with arriving travelers in another country and how that risk is managed."

@DrTedros @WHO @PaulGarnerWoof @LSTMnews @Lythb7 @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove "If you are a case yourself: Make a list of the people that you were in contact with in the 14 days before you got sick. Make a list of all of those people all of the places that you went and pick up the phone and make some phone calls”, says @mvankerkhove.

@DrTedros @WHO @PaulGarnerWoof @LSTMnews @Lythb7 @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove Q: are countries testing enough?
Not just about number of tests, says @DrMikeRyan. “I’ve seen countries with relatively low levels of availability of testing using that testing in a very strategic way, investigating clusters, trying to find out how disease is transmitted."

@DrTedros @WHO @PaulGarnerWoof @LSTMnews @Lythb7 @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove "Many people have paid a heavy price”, says @DrMikeRyan pointing to 50 million confirmed cases, a million deaths from #covid19. "Have we learned? Yes, we have. That's not the problem or the challenge. The question is can we apply the learning? And can we do that now?"

@DrTedros @WHO @PaulGarnerWoof @LSTMnews @Lythb7 @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove “It's not one measure alone”, says @mvankerkhove. "It can't just be testing alone. It can't just be contact tracing alone. It can't just be masks alone, can't just be hand hygiene alone. We will continue to say that over and over again.” (Trust me, she’s not bluffing.)