As the COVID-19 continued its march across the planet, shortages of some key drug ingredients were beginning to be felt in some markets, and iconic events such as the World Bank’s annual spring meeting were to be moved to a virtual platform. In Geneva, parallel sessions and side events involving the ongoing annual meetings of […] Continue reading ->
The World Bank on Tuesday announced the immediate release of US$12 billion to support countries struggling to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. That followed news that the global death rate from the novel coronavirus was now averaging around 3.4% as compared to around 2% of cases previously reported by WHO. In comparison, estimated fatality rates […] Continue reading ->
China has reported it’s lowest level of new COVID-19 infections in a month, with just 327 cases over the past 24 hours. At the same time, cases abroad exploded overnight with 1,000 more people reported to be infected with the virus in some 49 countries. Most f new cases were heavily concentrated in the emerging […] Continue reading ->
For the second day in a row, new COVID-19 cases outside of China exceeded those inside the country on Thursday. According to the latest data Thusday evening, there were now 4,053 cases in 44 countries outside of mainland China, and at least 54 deaths. The biggest hotspots remained Italy, Iran and Korea, but shifting numbers […] Continue reading ->
With spiraling outbreaks of COVID-19 in 3 countries, Iran, Italy, and Korea, WHO officials warned Monday of growing risks that the epidemic could become a full-fledged pandemic – although Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stepped back from the brink, telling a press briefing on Monday: “Does this virus have pandemic potential? Absolutely it has. Are we […] Continue reading ->
A sharp decline in new COVID-19 cases was reported by China on Thursday, providing a glimmer of hope about the potential to still contain the epidemic – but only if the steady increase being seen in new cases abroad can now be brought under control. As of 3 p.m. Central European Time (CET), official Chinese […] Continue reading ->
Experts were closely watching the development of Japan’s COVID-19 outbreak for signs of whether the virus might escape further out of control, moving closer to the tipping point of a pandemic – the worldwide spread of a new disease. Meanwhile, a new study in The Lancet found that in Africa, Egypt, Algeria and South Africa […] Continue reading ->
Egypt confirmed its first COVID-19 case on Friday, the first on the African continent, Egyptian media said, a report also confirmed by the World Health Organization’s Egypt office in a tweet. A Health Ministry statement said that it had informed WHO of the infection in a foreign national, who had been tested and then placed […] Continue reading ->
“We all have a vested interest to stop this epidemic,” says Thomas Cueni, Director General of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA). As WHO on Tuesday convenes a Global Research & Innovation Forum to rapidly ramp up R&D, Cueni spoke with Health Policy Watch about what he describes as “the extraordinary willingness […] Continue reading ->
“Containment” remains the main objective of the battle against the coronavirus, said WHO’s Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday, following a weekend where reports of new virus clusters in the United Kingdom and France raised fresh concerns about the virus capacity to spread rapidly beyond China’s borders. The WHO Director General spoke to […] Continue reading ->