World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that it is a difficult moment for the world, but there are green shoots of hope, and no matter where a country, region, or town is, it is never too late to turn an outbreak around.

Appreciating New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s efforts, Ghebreyesus further said in a press briefing that New Zealand is seen as a global exemplar: over the weekend, New Zealand marked 100 days with no community transmission.

He also commended Rwanda for its universal health coverage and the UK for its stay-at-home notifications as clusters of cases were identified.

He said: “Strong and precise measures like these, in combination with utilising every tool at our disposal, are key to preventing any resurgence in disease and allowing societies to be reopened safely.”

“And even in countries where transmission is intense, it can be brought under control by applying an all of government, all of the social response,” he added.

He said chains of transmission have been broken by a combination of rapid case identification, comprehensive contact tracing, adequate clinical care for patients, physical distancing, mask-wearing, regular cleaning of hands, and coughing away from others.

Reiterating his thoughts, the Director-General said: “My message is crystal-clear: suppress, suppress, suppress the virus. If we suppress the virus effectively, we can safely open up societies.”

Vaccine trials

Speaking on the vaccine, he said: “A Global Vaccines Facility is engaging over 160 countries. The first therapy for severe Covid — dexamethasone — is in scale-up. Dozens of other promising therapies are under analysis.”

“Over 50 diagnostics are in evaluation, including potentially game-changing rapid antigen tests. And a comprehensive framework for allocating these scarce tools for the greatest global impact is under consultation,” he further added.

Lebanon explosion

He also extended his condolences to the people who survived or succumbed to the explosion in Lebanon that happened last week. He said: “To the people of Beirut, the health workers, and emergency workers on the ground: our thoughts are with you and we will continue to support you.”

“We are shipping $1.7 million worth of PPE items to support Covid-19 and humanitarian supplies that were destroyed by the blast...We have issued an appeal for $76 million and ask for your solidarity and support to the Lebanese people,” he concluded.

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