Europe is now the center of coronavirus pandemic, death toll has passed 5,000 – WHO chief
13 Mar, 2020 16:02 / Updated 40 seconds ago
The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has now surpassed 5,000 and Europe has become the center of the outbreak, the head of the World Health Organization has said.
WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the death toll passed the “tragic milestone” at Friday’s daily briefing. He told the gathered media that Europe has become the center of the outbreak and the continent has more cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined apart from China.
The global health body said it is “impossible” to say when the pandemic will peak and Tedros warned world governments that a raft of measures are needed to tackle the disease.
Also on rt.com Brazil’s Bolsonaro says he tested NEGATIVE for Covid-19 despite reports
He said that any country that thinks it could not fall victim to a large outbreak of the Covid-19 illness is making a“deadly mistake”.
The health chief announced that the WHO is launching a Covid-19 solidarity response plan to enable individuals and organizations to contribute to disease control efforts.
The funds raised will be used to coordinate the response to tackling the crisis as well as buying masks, gloves, gowns, goggles and other essential materials. It will also be invested in research and development.
Speaking at the briefing, the WHO's Dr Mike Ryan said that there is a major funding gap for potential vaccines against the virus.
13 Mar, 2020 16:02 / Updated 40 seconds ago
The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has now surpassed 5,000 and Europe has become the center of the outbreak, the head of the World Health Organization has said.
WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the death toll passed the “tragic milestone” at Friday’s daily briefing. He told the gathered media that Europe has become the center of the outbreak and the continent has more cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined apart from China.
The global health body said it is “impossible” to say when the pandemic will peak and Tedros warned world governments that a raft of measures are needed to tackle the disease.
Also on rt.com Brazil’s Bolsonaro says he tested NEGATIVE for Covid-19 despite reports
He said that any country that thinks it could not fall victim to a large outbreak of the Covid-19 illness is making a“deadly mistake”.
The health chief announced that the WHO is launching a Covid-19 solidarity response plan to enable individuals and organizations to contribute to disease control efforts.
The funds raised will be used to coordinate the response to tackling the crisis as well as buying masks, gloves, gowns, goggles and other essential materials. It will also be invested in research and development.
Speaking at the briefing, the WHO's Dr Mike Ryan said that there is a major funding gap for potential vaccines against the virus.
