WHO Chief Alarmed Over New COVID-19 Cases in Poorer Countries
By VOA News May 20, 2020
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus voiced alarm Wednesday about increases in new coronavirus infections in poorer countries.
"We are very concerned about rising cases in low- and middle-income countries," the director-general said at WHO's regular news conference on the pandemic.
The WHO said 106,000 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the past 24 hours, the largest one-day hike since the outbreak began late last year.
Tedros said the WHO continues to support member states in efforts to ensure that essential supplies reach health care workers and patients and that health systems continue to function.
U.S. President Donald Trump has accused the WHO of mishandling the outbreak and favoring China, even as the U.S. continues to lead the world in COVID-19 infections and deaths.
Trump sent a letter to Tedros earlier this week threatening to pull out of the organization and permanently cut off funding. Tedros declined to respond to the threat, saying only, "We have received the letter and are looking into it."
WHO emergency program chief Dr. Mike Ryan warned people not to use the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, except for conditions it has been proven to treat.
Trump has said he is taking hydroxychloroquine to prevent coronavirus infection, despite a link between the drug and a greater risk of death in coronavirus patients.
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is calling for global solidarity with Africa as an essential part of ending the coronavirus pandemic, saying international action is needed to help strengthen the continent's health care systems and food supply and to avoid a financial crisis.
Guterres said Wednesday he commends African countries and the African Union for acting quickly to enforce quarantines and border closures, and to rely on regional cooperation to try to stop the spread of the virus.
"But the pandemic threatens African progress. It will aggravate long-standing inequalities and heighten hunger, malnutrition and vulnerability to disease," Guterres said. "Already, demand for Africa's commodities, tourism and remittances are declining. The opening of the trade zone has been pushed back, and millions could be pushed into extreme poverty."
In addition to urging international efforts to support education and protect jobs, Guterres also called for African countries to have "equal and affordable access to any eventual vaccine and treatment."
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said COVID-19 has killed more than 2,800 people. The largest numbers of confirmed cases in Africa are in South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Nigeria.
Egypt has announced stay-at-home orders for the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and now says that starting May 30, wearing masks will be required in public.
A mandatory mask order goes into effect Thursday in Spain for those over the age of six who are in a public place where it is not possible to stay two meters away from others.
In China, where the outbreak began in December, officials in the northeastern province of Jilin are trying to contain a new cluster of cases, including four new infections reported Wednesday.
Venezuela is also trying to contain an uptick in cases along its border with Brazil and Colombia. Authorities said there were 131 new cases over the course of 24 hours and linked the increase to migrants returning home.
Migrant workers in India will be getting more help in returning to their homes from big cities. Indian Railways announced that beginning June 1, it will be operating twice as many special trains. Health screenings and wearing masks are mandatory for riders.
June 1 will also bring the reopening of bars, restaurants, movie theaters and concert halls in the Netherlands, as the country moves to a new phase of easing coronavirus restrictions.
The country has seen weeks of declining deaths and new infections, but Prime Minister Mark Rutte said people will need to continue observing social distancing measures as businesses resume operations.
The pandemic has forced organizers of Japan's popular summer high school baseball tournament to cancel this year's event, the first time that has happened since World War II.
The nationally televised 16-day tournament was due to be held in mid-August, but the Japan High School Baseball Federation said Wednesday there was too much risk of the virus spreading among players gathering from all over the country.
Worldwide, there are more than 4.9 million confirmed cases and nearly 325,000 deaths from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics.
In the U.S., there are more than 1.5 million cases and 92,000 deaths, higher figures than in any other country.
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