Thread by @kakape

"The number of new cases of #covid19 reported to WHO has now declined for 6 weeks, and deaths have declined for 5 weeks”, says @DrTedros at @WHO presser. "However, we still see a mixed picture around the world.” Deaths went up in Africa, Americas and Western Pacific last week.

@DrTedros @WHO “Increasingly, we see a two-track pandemic: many countries still face an extremely dangerous situation, while some of those with the highest vaccination rates are starting to talk about ending restrictions”, says @DrTedros.

@DrTedros @WHO "With the increased global transmission of variants of concern including the Delta variant, lifting restrictions too quickly could be disastrous for those who are not vaccinated”, says @drtedros.

@DrTedros @WHO "The inequitable distribution of #covid19 vaccines has allowed the virus to continue spreading, increasing the chances of a variant emerging that renders vaccines less effective”, says @drtedros.

@DrTedros @WHO Notes he has called for a global effort to vaccinate at least 10% of the population of all countries by September, and at least 30% by end of the year. "To reach these targets, we need an additional 250 million doses by September”, says @DrTedros, 100 million in June/July alone.

@DrTedros @WHO Q: What can @WHO do to make China open up records for origins investigation?
“WHO does not have the power to investigate or enter countries without the express permission and cooperation of that country”, says @DrMikeRyan. “We work through cooperation, we work through consensus."

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan Understanding origins is important, says @DrMikeRyan.
But: “It is not always easy to determine that. … We will continue in the second phase to propose the necessary studies to take our understanding and knowledge to the next level."

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan Q about Brazil hosting Copa America.
“We would advise that any country undertaking such a mass gathering, especially in the context of community transmission, be extremely careful about ensuring that they have the proper risk management in place”, says @DrMikeRyan.

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan “If that risk management cannot be guaranteed than certainly countries should reconsider their decisions to host or run any mass gathering”, says @DrMikeRyan.

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan “We are seeing these worrying trends of increased transmissibility, increased social mixing, relaxing of public health and social measures and uneven and inequitable vaccine distribution around the world”, says @mvankerkhove “Those four factors are a really dangerous combination"

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove Q about Chile.
"Chile is facing a challenging situation as are many countries in South America”, says @mvankerkhove. “Even if the pandemic feels like it's over for some of us, it's not over for the for the world."

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove “High levels of vaccination coverage are the way out of this pandemic”, says @DrMikeRyan “Right now, it's not 100% clear from the data, where the figure for vaccination coverage should be in order to fully affect transmission, but it's certainly north of 80% coverage."