The Coronavirus Still Is a Global Health Emergency, WHO Warns - msnNOW
A customer receives her order inside a prototype location of fast food giant McDonald's for restaurants which respect the 1.5m social distancing measure, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Arnhem, Netherlands, on May 1.
A Wizz Air Airbus A320 from Sofia, Bulgaria taxis to a gate after landing at Luton Airport after Wizz Air resumed flights today on some routes, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Luton, England on May 1.
Workers Unions keep a safe distance from each other and wear face masks to help protect against the spread of the new coronavirus during an event marking May Day in Lisbon, Portugal on May 1.
A member of the technical support team, Joan Alcaraz, (R), helps a healthcare worker of the CAP Manso primary care centre, Kilian Trenard, to put his protective suit on before visiting patients at their homes in Barcelona, Spain on May 1.
Vehicles spray disinfectant while sanitizing a road amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Moscow, Russia May 1, 2020.
The Plaza Barber Shop in Grand Forks did a steady business after reopening as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum announced that businesses such as restaurants, bars, and hair salons previous, closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, may reopen, with precautions, on May 1.
Sheep are seen on Avington Park Golf Course, as they are being used to maintain the course after the staff were furloughed, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Avington, England on May 1.
A Delhi Civil Defence official takes details from stranded migrant workers and homeless people living in Yamuna Sports Complex shelter home, during lockdown, on May 1 in New Delhi as India extended the nationwide lockdown until May 17.
Plastic face shields are hung up to dry after being sprayed with disinfectant, on a fence outside a ward for those who have tested positive for the new coronavirus, at the infectious disease unit of Kenyatta National Hospital, located at Mbagathi Hospital, in Nairobi, Kenya on May 1.
A family is seen at the Taipei Children's Amusement Park, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Taipei, Taiwan on May 1.
Protesters march during a May Day rally outside the Greek Parliament, in Athens, Greece, on May 1. Hundreds of protesters gathered in Athens and Thessaloniki to mark May Day, despite appeals from the government for marches to be postponed until next Saturday, when some lockdown measures will have been lifted.
Empty chairs arranged to display "SOS" are placed at the Neumarkt square to call attention to the difficult situation of hotel and restaurant owners, in Dresden, Germany, on May 1.
A South African Police Service officer commands a man to wear a face mask in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, on May 1.
Chinese paramilitary police wear protective masks as they march by the entrance to the Forbidden City as it re-opened to limited visitors for the May holiday, on May 1, in Beijing, China.
A man lights a candle outside a church, after the first mass open for believers after the closing of church services due to the spread of the coronavirus disease, in Kevelaer, Germany on May 1.
People stand inside old rubber tires placed to enforce social distancing, as they queue up to receive free food from Buddhist monks during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, at Wat Awutvikasitaram in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 1.
Temporary memorials have been erected outside Riverside Church, for those who have died from coronavirus, in Staffordshire, England, on May 1.
Patients react after being discharged from a temporary hospital set up at IFEMA fairgrounds, before it's closure, in Madrid, Spain, on May 1.
A Pepper humanoid robot, manufactured by SoftBank Group Corp. demonstrates how to check-in in a hotel of APA Group that has been designated to accommodate asymptomatic people and those with light symptoms of the coronavirus to free up hospital beds and alleviate work by nurses and staff members, in Tokyo, Japan on May 1.
Visitors wearing face masks practice social distancing as they line up to enter the Forbidden City before its reopening on the first day of the five-day Labour Day holiday following the coronavirus outbreak, in Beijing, China on May 1.
Nurses prepare a test kit at the ACT's drive through COVID-19 testing site on May 1, in Canberra, Australia. The ACT became the first Australian state or territory to be free of any known COVID-19 cases on Thursday, following the recovery of the last person to contract the coronavirus in Canberra.
A member of the New York City Fire Department stands on top of a firetruck holding up a speaker playing 'New York, New York' by Frank Sinatra in honor of medical staff and essential workers outside of NYU Langone Health hospital amid the coronavirus pandemic on April 30.
Small-businesses owners, artists and other self-employed protest, while keeping each other at a distance, against the government over its handing of the coronavirus crisis and the subsequent economic fallout, at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, on April 30.
An electronic screen, installed on the facade of a business center, shows an image of a doctor wearing a medical mask and calling to be careful not to become infected with coronavirus in St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 30.
A volunteer from the NGO Proactiva Open Arms performs a rapid test on Covid-19 by giving a nose swab to a health worker of the Redos Geriatric Residence in Sant Pere de Ribes, Spain, on April 30, as the tests are part of a clinical trial carried out on health workers in nursing homes and residents coordinated by Can Ruti Hospital and in which the HIV Foundation and the NGO Proactiva Open Arms are participating.
Colombian policemen disinfect the hands of Venezuelan citizens as they carry their belongings back to their country, from Cucuta, Colombia, on April 30.
The streets remain empty along E. Houston Street due to the COVID-19 outbreak in New York, on April 30.
Honduran immigrants, who were deported on a flight from Mexico while trying to reach the U.S., leave a temporary shelter where they were quarantined due to the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on April 30.
People wearing masks keep social distancing in the metro, during the national quarantine that will rule until 11 May to limit the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Medellin, Colombia, on April 30.
Health workers fumigate a market amid concerns of the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Sanaa, Yemen on April 30.
A cyclist rides past a closed beach sign during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Del Mar, California, on April 30.
The U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort heads past lower Manhattan and the World Trade Center building under heavy fog as it leaves to return to its home port of Norfolk, Virginia, after treating patients during the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City on April 30.
The empty space of the largest club in the TriCity, due to coronavirus outbreak is seen in Gdansk, Poland on April 30.
Buddhists monks wearing face masks to help protect against the spread of the new coronavirus, pray to celebrate the Buddha's birthday at the Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul, South Korea, on April 30.
A boy is seen near prepared food packages to be distributed to poor families during the holy month of Ramadan, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tehran, Iran, on April 30.
U.S. Navy sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, who have tested negative twice for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and are asymptomatic, arrive pierside and prepare to return to the ship following completion of their off-ship quarantine at Naval Base Guam on April 30.
A female seal Shakitto and the aquarium keeper Manami Suka stroll together as a part of their practice for their show at an empty visitors' area at the Aqua Park Shinagawa, which is closed to the public amid the pandemic, in Tokyo, Japan on April 30.
Swiss soldiers arrive at the shooting range after installing the contact tracking application created by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), using Bluetooth and a design called Decentralised Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (DP-3T), which will be launched on May 11 by the Swiss Government for easing of the lockdown, at the Chamblon barracks, on April 30.
Protesters wearing masks and gloves hold flags during a protest by supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in front of Israel's Supreme Court in Jerusalem on April 30.
Members of a youth group in Star Wars costumes entertain locals along a road in Malabon, Metro Manila, Philippines on April 30.
A Hellenic Red Cross volunteer wearing personal protective equipment checks the temperature of people entering the premises of a court in Athens, Greece on April 30.
A police officer wearing a protective face mask walks past a novel COVID-19-themed scarecrow cutout put up in a residential area, in the old quarters of Delhi, India on April 30.
Medical workers treat patients suffering from COVID-19 inside the KBC Zvezdara hospital in Belgrade, Serbia on April 30.
Gala, 7, speaks with her friend and classmate Oliver, 6, as they jump on the wall on their courtyard in Barcelona, Spain on April 29.
Couples ride bikes around the lake to celebrate their marriage, in Haian, China on April 29.
Drive-in COVID-19 testing center at Glasgow Airport in Glasgow, Scotland on April 29.
A man gives food to a volunteer to distribute to residents living in a slum on the banks of Yamuna river, in New Delhi, India on April 29.
Portuguese military police prepare to disinfect a school as part of a demonstration ahead of students' return in Lisbon, Portugal on April 29.
People queue outside a care center in order to receive social assistance in Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 29.
Swedish Red Cross volunteers deliver goods to elderly residents in Nacka, Sweden on April 29.
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The World Health Organization extended its declaration of a global health emergency on Friday amid increasing criticism from the Trump Administration about its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
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The move comes exactly three months after the organization’s original decision to announce a “public health emergency of international concern” on Jan. 30. At the time, only 98 of the nearly 10,000 confirmed cases had occurred outside China’s borders.
But the pandemic continues to grow. More than 3.2 million people around the world are known to have been infected, and nearly a quarter million have died, according to official counts. There is evidence on six continents of sustained transmission of the virus.
All of this has led experts in the W.H.O.’s emergency committee to reconvene to assess the course of the outbreak, and to advise on updated recommendations, said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the organization’s director-general.
“The pandemic remains a public health emergency of international concern,” Dr. Tedros said, adding that the crisis “has illustrated that even the most sophisticated health systems are struggling to cope with a pandemic.”
A rapid rise in new cases in Africa and South America, where many countries have weak health care systems, was alarming, he said. The acceleration is occurring even as the spread of the virus has appeared to slow in many countries in Asia and Europe.
Although people are slowly starting to return to work in China after weeks of lockdowns, businesses, schools and cultural institutions are still shuttered in most parts of the world. The virus has badly damaged the global economy.
Across the United States, governors are struggling to square constituents’ demands for an end to stay-at-home orders with the consequences of loosening social distancing rules.
Scientific and public health experts have warned that reopening restaurants, movie theaters and malls may lead to a deadly second wave of infection.
Several Republican senators, especially those locked in difficult races, have started shifting the blame for the spread of the virus onto China. Party officials hope that deflecting anger over the human casualties and economic pain in the United States will help salvage a difficult election.
President Trump has embraced the strategy, calling out “China’s misinformation” and the W.H.O.’s “China-centric” response in the early days of the pandemic.
He has accused the W.H.O., without evidence, of helping China to obscure the extent of its epidemic in the early days, as well as being slow to release guidelines for precautions against infections.
In fact, the W.H.O. began raising alarms in early January, as soon as it was informed by China of a new, mysterious illness in the city of Wuhan. On Friday, Dr. Tedros insisted that the W.H.O. did not waste any time in traveling to Beijing “to discuss with the leadership and to find, to see for ourselves, the situation in China.”
In mid-April, Mr. Trump announced he would halt funding to the W.H.O. The United States is by far the organization’s largest benefactor.
Dr. Tedros announced Friday that the European Investment Bank would provide grants and financial support to help strengthen global supply chains, and facilitate the distribution of diagnostics, personal protective equipment and other medical supplies.
“We look forward to seeing how that type of innovative financing could deliver real results for global health when W.H.O. is advocating health for all,” Dr. Tedros said. “W.H.O. is deeply grateful to the European Investment Bank for its support and collaboration.”
The W.H.O. helped arrange testing supplies and personal protective equipment for countries in need and held daily news meetings to warn the world that the virus was spreading and that countries should do everything they could to stop it.
At nearly every briefing, Dr. Tedros repeated: “We have a window of opportunity to stop this virus. But that window is rapidly closing.”
On Friday, Didier Houssin, chair of the W.H.O. emergency committee, said that committee members had made more than 20 recommendations, hoping to reduce disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The guidance focuses on mitigating interruptions to the distribution of food and medicines caused by lockdowns, a safe return to work, and resumption of normal air travel. The committee said researchers would continue to look for the animal thought to be the original source of the coronavirus, and to develop potential vaccines and therapies.
“We encourage countries to follow W.H.O.’s advice, which we are constantly reviewing and updating as we learn more about the virus, and as we learn more from countries about best practices for responding to it,” Dr. Tedros said.
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