WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 – 24 February 2020
[Context: This is an official statement from the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.]
Good afternoon, everybody. Over the past few days, we have been working with Chinese colleagues to better understand the dynamics of the outbreak and the impact of the measures that China has taken to contain it.
[Fact Check: The WHO is collaborating with China to study the COVID-19 outbreak and the effectiveness of China’s containment measures.]
As you know, there are now 77,262 cases of COVID-19 reported in China, and 2,595 people have lost their lives. 24 other countries have reported a total of 1,076 cases and 8 deaths. We see a significant escalation in the number of cases in the last two days from Iran, Italy, and the Republic of Korea.
[Fact Check: The WHO provides the latest statistics on the global spread of COVID-19, emphasizing the recent increase in cases in Iran, Italy, and South Korea.]
Of course, this sudden increase in new cases is of concern. We have also seen an increase in the number of cases in the Islamic Republic of Iran, where we have 28 cases and 5 deaths. The cases in Italy have been very rapidly linked through their direct ownership by Iran.
[Fact Check: The WHO expresses concern about the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in Iran and the link to cases in Italy.]
We’re reaching out to our sources to better understand the evolving situation and the outbreak, and we may have to adapt our policy accordingly. As I said on Friday, we’re at a crucial juncture. For the moment, we’re not witnessing the uncontained epidemics as a major concern beyond China. However, we must ensure that we prevent the seeding of the epidemic in any country, especially the least prepared countries.
[Fact Check: The WHO is monitoring the situation closely and may adjust its response to the evolving COVID-19 outbreak. The focus is on preventing the spread of the virus to vulnerable countries.]
