Coronavirus pandemic is 'accelerating', WHO warns
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the coronavirus disease pandemic is "accelerating", with an increase of than 300,000 cases now confirmed.
It took 67 days from the first reported of Covid-19 to attain 100,000 cases, 11 days for the next 100,000, and just four days for the 3rd 100,000.
But WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it had been still possible to "change the trajectory".
He urged countries to look at rigorous testing and contact-tracing strategies.
"What matters most is what we do. You can't win a football game by defending. You have to attack aswell," he told a joint news conference with Fifa president Gianni Infantino to launch a "kick out coronavirus" campaign featuring footballers.
Dr Tedros said asking persons to stay at home and other physical-distancing measures were a crucial way of slowing the spread of the virus, but described them as "defensive measures that won't help us to win".
"To win, we must attack the virus with aggressive and targeted tactics - testing every suspected case, isolating and caring for every confirmed case, and chasing and quarantining every close contact."
Dr Tedros expressed alarm at reports from around the world of many infections among health workers, which appeared to be the consequence of a shortage of adequate personal protective equipment.
"Health workers can only just do their jobs effectively when they can do their jobs safely," he warned. "Even if we do the rest right, if we don't prioritize protecting health staff many persons will die for the reason that health worker who could have saved their life is sick."
He said the WHO has been working with its partners to rationalize and prioritize the consumption of protective equipment, also to address the global shortage of it.
But he noted: "Measures devote destination to slow the spread of the virus may have unintended consequences of exacerbating shortages of essential protective gear and the materials had a need to make them."
The WHO chief needed "political commitment and political co-ordination at the global level" and said he'd ask leaders of the G20 band of nations this week to interact to boost production of protective equipment, avoid export bans and ensure equity of distribution on the basis of need.
