Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoUnifeed
WHO / COVID-19 UPDATE
STORY: WHO / COVID-19 UPDATE
TRT: 4:12
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /NATS
DATELINE: 13 APRIL 2020, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
RECENT - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1.Exterior shot, WHO Headquarters
13 APRIL 2020, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2.Wide shot, press room
3.SOUNDBITE (English) Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“We can only say what we know. And we can only act on what we know. Evidence from several countries is giving us a clearer picture about this virus, how it behaves, how to stop it, and how to treat it.”
4.Wide shot, press room
5.SOUNDBITE (English) Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“While COVID-19 accelerates very fast, it decelerates very slowly. In other words, the way down is much slower than the way up. That means control measures must be lifted slowly and with control. It cannot happen all at once.”
6.Cutaway, Dr Ryan reading
7.SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director, Health Emergencies Programme, WHO:
“You can't replace lockdown with nothing. You must replace lockdown with a very deeply educated, committed, empowered and engaged community. We are going to have to change our behaviours for the foreseeable future.”
8.Wide shot, panel
9.SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director, Health Emergencies Programme, WHO:
“As we come out of these lockdown situations, we may see a jump back up in cases. And we don't want to lurch from lockdown to nothing to lockdown to nothing. We need to have a much more stable exit strategy, that allows us to move carefully and persistently away from lockdown And the only way to do that is to have fully empowered communities and a fully activated public health architecture and the strengthen health system.”
10.Cutaway, reporter
11.SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director, Health Emergencies Programme, WHO:
“Masks are not an alternative to lockdown, and we've said this publicly again and again, WHO will support countries who wish to implement a more broad-based strategy of mask wearing or face covering wearing, on a more on a broader basis. As long as it's part of a comprehensive strategy. As long as it's linked to the things we said before: community education, personal hygiene, a strategy to find test and isolate cases. If mask use is added to that, then I think WHO can see the value.”
12.Cutaway, reporter
13.SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director, Health Emergencies Programme, WHO:
“So, the pressures on people to go back to work are going to be very strong and very appropriate. But we don't want people having to make difficult choices. And in some way think that putting a mask on, is the same as staying home and reporting the fact that you're sick to authorities.”
14.Cutaway, Dr Van Kerhove reading from laptop
15.SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, Technical lead, Health Emergencies Programme, WHO:
“So, initially, when we started to put together our technical guidance for our Member States, we put guidance that focused on how this virus could be transmitted. And what we focus on was droplets and contact transmission, which is how respiratory pathogens are spread. We also within our Infection Prevention and Control guidance put out a special provision for healthcare workers who are focused on conducting aerosol generating procedures in which we put in place recommendations for airborne transmission. That guidance is still in effect. The guidance we put up was on the 10th of January. “
16.Cutaway, panel
17.SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, Technical lead, Health Emergencies Programme, WHO:
“We need much more information from recovered patients. There's more than 300,000 people globally who have recovered. And we really need to better understand what that antibody response is. There are a number of studies that are underway that are looking at the antibody response using different serologic tests that are currently available. Some of these are screening assays, and some of these require high… high BSL labs that could look at a neutralisation assay. And so as soon as we have that information, we will share that with you. But right now we don't have a full picture of what immunity looks like. And until we do, we can't give a complete answer.”
18.Various shots, press conference
“Control measures must be lifted slowly and with control,” UN health agency’s chief Dr Tedros said as the rate of new coronavirus (COVID-19) infections continues to drop in many places around the world and governments looking into lifting the economy-sapping lockdowns.
“It cannot happen all at once,” said Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) at a press briefing in Geneva on Monday (13 April). “While COVID-19 accelerates very fast, it decelerates very slowly. In other words, the way down is much slower than the way up.”
Dr Michael Ryan, the Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme joined Dr Tedros in cautioning against premature ending of the lockdowns.
“You can't replace lockdown with nothing. You must replace lockdown with a very deeply educated, committed, empowered and engaged community. We are going to have to change our behaviours for the foreseeable future,” said Dr Ryan.
He also warned against putting too much confidence in facial masks to protect from the novel coronavirus COVID-19.
“Masks are not an alternative to lockdown,” Dr Ryan underlined.
“We need much more information from recovered patients,” said Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, Technical lead of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme.
“There's more than 300,000 people globally who have recovered. And we really need to better understand what that antibody response is. There are a number of studies that are underway that are looking at the antibody response using different serologic tests that are currently available,” she said, adding that “right now we don't have a full picture of what immunity looks like. And until we do, we can't give a complete answer.”
More than 110 000 people globally have died from COVID-19 so far, according to WHO. The agency recorded more than 1 700 000 cases of the disease in the world.
Download
There is no media available to download.
