UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing: Coronavirus Update - WHO
/
2:58
/
MP4
/
219.3 MB

Edited News | WHO , UNITED NATIONS

UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing: Coronavirus Update WHO

Coronavirus deaths surpass 1,000 as scientists gather at WHO headquarters to discuss next steps

Deaths from the coronavirus epidemic have surpassed 1,000, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on Tuesday, as hundreds of health experts embarked on a key meeting at its headquarters in Geneva to help decide next steps.

“As of 6am Geneva time this morning, there were 42,708 confirmed cases reported in China and tragically we now have surpassed 1,000 deaths,” said Fadela Chaib, WHO spokesperson.

“To be precise, it’s 1, 017 people in China who have lost their lives to this outbreak. Outside China, we have 393 cases in 24 countries with one death; the one death is in the Philippines.”

As infections tick up since novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was declared in central China on 31 December, Ms. Chaib noted that this was likely owing to a “combination” of improved screening and detection measures.

“It’s a combination; you are seeing more cases because we are detecting more cases and also because it’s a backlog of cases that are now being tested in labs,” she explained.

The development comes as some 300 scientists, public health agencies, ministries of health and research funders convened for an expert two-day meeting at WHO to share the latest information about the virus and decide how best to confront it.

Currently, there is no vaccine to protect against it and no proven therapeutics to infections, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told those gathered at WHO headquarters for the Research and Innovation Forum on novel coronavirus 2019.

Appealing to participants for their scientific insight, Tedros also called for answers to many unknowns relating to the epidemic.

These include the virus’s “reservoirs”, Tedros said, as well as its transmission dynamics and period of infectiousness, which samples to use for diagnosis and monitoring, along with discussions around how to manage severe cases of infection and any ethical issues that may surface relating to research requirements.

This is not a meeting about politics or money. This is a meeting about science,” he insisted.
“There is still so much we don’t know….We need your collective knowledge, insight and experience to answer the questions we don’t have answers to, and to identify the questions we may not even realize we need to ask.”
One of the hoped-for outcomes of the meeting is an agreed roadmap for research around which researchers and donors will align.

A key imperative was the sharing of samples and sequences of the coronavirus, Tedros said, before insisting that “to defeat this outbreak, we need open and equitable sharing, according to the principles of fairness and equity”.
Following the West African Ebola outbreak, the UN health agency devised a strategy for developing drugs and vaccines before future epidemics, and for accelerating research and development activities during outbreaks.
In line with this protocol, an “R&D Blueprint” team at WHO began work in early January this year, to coordinate and facilitate information-sharing on research elements of the response, Tedros explained.
Echoing the WHO Director-General’s comments, Ms. Chaib told a news conference that much was still unknown about the virus, which remains principally a threat in China.

“We are still in the very early stage of understanding this virus,” she said. “How it is transmitted, the source of the virus, the incubation period, the clinical feature, the severity of it, etc…99 per cent of cases are in China; this remains very much an emergency for that country, but it’s also a high risk for the region, Asia region and for the world.”

Discussing the work of the coronavirus forum at the WHO, Ms. Chaib reiterated the hope that scientists would share information across many cross-cutting areas.

“They are not only talking about vaccines or therapeutics or diagnostic tests, they will also talk about the human-animal interface of this virus,” she said. “They will also talk about the clinical features of the patients they have seen, they will share information about all of this.”

She added: Three hundred high-level scientists is a lot, in my opinion, and they are also working in networks in networks and organisations. The information is shared, we are sharing the genome sequencing of the virus with hundreds of laboratories worldwide, so there is a real international mobilisation against this novel coronavirus.”

In response to a question that the incubation period of the coronavirus might turn out to be longer than two weeks - the currently accepted timeline - the WHO spokesperson underscored that “we have a lot of unknowns with this virus. We are saying it’s from one to 14 days. But we are welcoming all sorts of studies and scientific papers that provides more and more knowledge to the scientific community to better understand this outbreak and the virus itself.”

  1. Exterior shot, flag alley, windy and bright, UN Palais des Nations.
  2. Wide shot, press room, journalists, podium.
  3. SOUNDBITE: Fadela Chaib, Spokesperson, World Health Organization (WHO): “As of 6am Geneva time this morning, there were 42,708 confirmed cases reported in China and tragically we now have surpassed 1,000 deaths, to be precise, it’s 1, 017 people in China who have lost their lives to this outbreak. Outside China, we have 393 cases in 24 countries with one death; the one death is in the Philippines.”
  4. Medium shot, row of journalists, in profile.
  5. Medium shot, journalists working on laptops.
  6. SOUNDBITE: Fadela Chaib, Spokesperson, World Health Organization (WHO):: “It’s a combination, you are seeing more cases because we are detecting more cases and also because it’s a backlog of cases that are now being tested in labs.”
  7. Close-up, journalist typing on laptop.
  8. SOUNDBITE: Fadela Chaib, Spokesperson, World Health Organization (WHO):: Ninety-nine per cent of cases are in China; this remains very much an emergency for that country, but it’s also a high risk for the region, Asia region and for the world.”
  9. Medium shot, journalists.
  10. SOUNDBITE: Fadela Chaib, Spokesperson, World Health Organization (WHO): “We are still in the very early stage of understanding this virus; how it is transmitted, the source of the virus, the incubation period, the clinical feature, the severity of it, etc.”
  11. Medium shot, journalist writing on notepaper.
  12. SOUNDBITE: Fadela Chaib, Spokesperson, World Health Organization (WHO): “They are not only talking about vaccines or therapeutics or diagnostic tests, they will also talk about the human-animal interface of this virus, they will also talk about the clinical features of the patients they have seen, they will share information about all of this.”
  13. Medium shot, journalists.
  14. SOUNDBITE: Fadela Chaib, Spokesperson, World Health Organization (WHO): “Three hundred high-level scientists is a lot, in my opinion and they are also working in networks in networks and organisations. The information is shared, we are sharing the genome sequencing of the virus with hundreds of laboratories worldwide, so there is a real international mobilisation against this novel coronavirus.”
  15. Medium shot, journalist typing on laptop, semi-profile.
  16. SOUNDBITE: Fadela Chaib, Spokesperson, World Health Organization (WHO): “We have a lot of unknowns with this virus. We are saying it’s from one to 14 days. But we are welcoming all sorts of studies and scientific papers that provides more and more knowledge to the scientific community to better understand this outbreak and the virus itself.”
  17. Medium shot, journalists, semi-profile.
  18. Close-up, journalist wearing headphones, UN logo and speaker partly obscured.

Similar Stories

ITU 160th Anniversary - 17 May 2025

1

1

1

Edited News , B-roll | ITU

ITU 160th Anniversary - 17 May 2025 ENG FRA

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) commemorated 160 years dedicated to connecting the world on Saturday, 17 May in Geneva, Switzerland, during the annual World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.

Gaza humanitarian update – WHO, OCHA 16 May 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | WHO , OCHA

Gaza humanitarian update – WHO, OCHA 16 May 2025 ENG FRA

Gazans ‘in terror’ after another night of deadly strikes and siege

Amid reports that Israeli strikes across Gaza into Friday killed at least 64 people, aid teams once again pushed back strongly at allegations that aid is being diverted to Hamas and pleaded for the blockade to end.

UN Human Rights raises human rights concerns about deportations from the United States of America

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights raises human rights concerns about deportations from the United States of America ENG FRA

Deportations over recent months of large numbers of non-nationals from the United States of America, especially to countries other than those of their origin, raise a number of human rights concerns, the UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk warned on Tuesday.   

Gaza health update - WHO

1

1

1

Edited News | WHO

Gaza health update - WHO ENG FRA

Gaza: Over 50 child malnutrition deaths amid aid blockade; entire generation will be ‘permanently affected’ - WHO

In the aid desert of Gaza, malnourished children are dying while survivors can expect a lifetime of dire health problems, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

Gaza aid update - UNICEF, UNRWA, WHO 09 May 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | WHO , UNICEF , UNRWA

Gaza aid update - UNICEF, UNRWA, WHO 09 May 2025 ENG FRA

Israel’s aid plan will force Gaza families to choose ‘between displacement and death’ – UN humanitarians

Israel’s plan to take control of relief assistance in Gaza risks increasing the suffering of families already exhausted by 18 months of war by putting their lives in danger and inciting more displacement, using aid as “bait”, UN humanitarians said on Friday.

Gaza humanitarian blockade  OCHA - WHO

1

1

1

Edited News | OCHA , WHO

Gaza humanitarian blockade OCHA - WHO ENG FRA

UN Humanitarians reject Israeli plan to take over aid delivery

The reported Israeli proposal to deliver humanitarian supplies through hubs controlled by the military would be a breach of the core principles of neutral, impartial and independent aid delivery, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said on Tuesday.

 

Gaza two months blockade - OCHA 02 MAY 2025

1

1

1

Edited News , B-roll | OCHA

Gaza two months blockade - OCHA 02 MAY 2025 ENG FRA

Gaza: ‘Worst-case scenario’ unfolds as two-month aid blockade deepens suffering - OCHA

Two months into a devastating aid blockade of Gaza food has run out and people are fighting over water amid relentless bombing, the UN’s humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) said on Friday.

/Includes OCHA footage from Gaza City/

Gaza humanitarian update - UNRWA

1

1

1

Edited News | UNRWA

Gaza humanitarian update - UNRWA ENG FRA

Children in Gaza are going to bed starving, says aid agency
The biggest UN aid agency in Gaza on Tuesday condemned the two-month Israeli blockade on Gaza that has left families sharing a single tin of food at mealtime and the sick and injured without lifesaving medical help, amid daily bombardment.

Ukraine attacks - UNHCR 25 April 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | UNHCR

Ukraine attacks - UNHCR 25 April 2025 ENG FRA

Ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine force frontline areas to empty: UNHCR

With Ukrainian cities still reeling from this week’s deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, communities on the front line continue to be targeted too, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine. 

 

Ethiopia update - WFP

1

1

1

Edited News | WFP

Ethiopia update - WFP ENG FRA

Funding and supply shortfalls for the UN World Food Programme (WFP)'s work in Ethiopia will halt lifesaving treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children at the end of the month. “We are at the breaking point,” it said on Tuesday. 

Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan on continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan on continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon ENG FRA

Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians, the UN Human Rights Office warned today.

Sudan crisis update IOM - UN Women - UNDP

1

1

1

Edited News | IOM , UNWOMEN , UNDP

Sudan crisis update IOM - UN Women - UNDP ENG FRA

Sudan: Aid teams report massive displacement after latest Darfur atrocity; women’s bodies ‘turned into battlegrounds’

In Sudan’s North Darfur, tens of thousands of people have fled a displacement camp following the massacre of civilians and aid workers as the country enters the third year of a conflict marked by horrific levels of sexual violence, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.