'It Is Impossible to Predict SARS-CoV-2 Epidemic's Future'

In a speech to the Munich Security Conference, the WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, described aspects of the COVID-19 outbreak situation in China that are encouraging, and areas of concern.

'Today, I have 3 requests for the international community,’ said Dr. Ghebreyesus on February 15, 2020.

‘First, we must use the window of opportunity we have to intensify our preparedness. China has bought the world time. But, we don’t know how much time.’

‘All countries must be prepared for the arrival of cases, to treat patients with dignity and compassion, to prevent onward transmission, and to protect health workers.

The WHO is working with manufacturers and distributors of personal protective equipment to ensure a reliable supply of the tools health workers need to do their job safely and effectively.

However, we’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic.

Fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus, and is just as dangerous. That’s why we’re also working with search and media companies like Facebook, Google, Pinterest, Tencent, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and others to counter the spread of rumors and misinformation.

We call on all governments, companies and news organizations to work with us to sound the appropriate level of alarm, without fanning the flames of hysteria.

Second, this is not a job for health ministers alone. It takes a whole-of-government approach.

But that approach must be coherent and coordinated, guided by evidence and public health priorities. In many countries, measures have been taken by one part of government without appropriate consultation with the health ministry, or consideration of the impact of these measures.

Now more than ever is the time for us to let science and evidence lead policy.

If we don’t, we are headed down a dark path that leads nowhere but division and disharmony.

And third, we must be guided by solidarity, not stigma. I repeat this: we must be guided by solidarity, not stigma.

The greatest enemy we face is not the virus itself; it’s the stigma that turns us against each other. We must stop stigma and hate!

Much has been written and said about my praise for China.

I have given credit where it’s due, and I will continue to do that, as I would and I did for any country that fights an outbreak aggressively at its source to protect its own people and the people of the world, even at great cost to itself.

It’s easy to blame. It’s easy to politicize. And it’s even harder to tackle a problem together and find solutions together.

We will all learn lessons from this outbreak. But now is not the time for recriminations or politicization.

We have a choice. 

Can we come together to face a common and dangerous enemy? Or will we allow fear, suspicion, and irrationality to distract and divide us?

In our fractured and divided world, health is one of the few areas in which international cooperation offers the opportunity for countries to work together for a common cause.

This is a time for facts, not fear.

This is a time for rationality, not rumors.

This is a time for solidarity, not stigma,’ concluded Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s remarks.

SARS-CoV-2 news published by Coronavirus Today.