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☆ WHO maintains highest alert over COVID, but sees hope ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 30 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that COVID-19 continues to constitute a public health emergency of international concern, its highest form of alert. The pandemic was likely in a "transition point" that continues to need careful management to "mitigate the potential negative consequences", the agency added in a statement. It is three years since the WHO first declared that COVID represented a global health emergency. More than 6.8 million people have died during the outbreak, which has touched every country on Earth, ravaging communities and economies. Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru and Jennifer Rigby in London; Editing by Toby Chopra and Nick MacfieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/Summary WHO's executive board meets from Jan. 30-Feb. 7WHO seeking $6.86 bln for 2024-2025 budgetBody seen pushing for bigger role in global health crisesGENEVA, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization will push at its board meeting this week for an expanded role in tackling the next global health emergency after COVID-19, but is still seeking answers on how to fund it, according to health policy experts. Also on his list was "the position of the World Health Organization, recognizing there is a need for a reinforced central role for WHO" in the global health emergency system. "It's a huge knot," said Nicoletta Dentico, the co-chair of the civil society platform the Geneval Global Health Hub. PANDEMIC PREPARATIONThe WHO, which celebrates its 75-year anniversary having been set up in 1948, will also use the meeting to advocate for a boosted role in pandemic preparedness, documents showed. Tedros will call for a Global Health Emergency Council to be set up linked to WHO governance.

☆ WHO says Covid remains a global emergency but pandemic could near its end in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

But WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was hopeful that the world will transition out of the emergency phase of the pandemic this year. The World Health Organization on Monday said Covid-19 remains an global health emergency as the world enters the fourth year of the pandemic. The WHO decision comes after the U.S. earlier this month extended its public health emergency until April. Last month, the WHO chief said the end of the emergency phase of the pandemic is closer than ever before. "We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic.

☆ Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 accounts for nearly half of U.S. COVID cases- CDC
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 20 (Reuters) - The fast-spreading Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 accounted for nearly half of the COVID-19 cases in the United States, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed on Friday. It is estimated to have accounted for 49.1% of COVID cases in the country in the week ended Jan. 21, compared with 37.2% estimated last week. It is an offshoot of XBB, a combination of two other Omicron sub-variants, which was first detected in October. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted a few weeks ago that XBB.1.5 has been on the rise globally and identified in over 25 countries. read moreReporting by Khushi Mandowara in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's Lunar New Year travel to boost economy after COVID crunch
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

While many analysts say a return to economic normality will be gradual as the impact of COVID weakens, some see the Lunar New Year as a welcome early consumption boost. But with so many people on the move, health experts fear a deepening of the COVID outbreak, leaving the elderly in rural villages particularly vulnerable. Reuters reported on Tuesday that doctors in both public and private hospitals were being actively discouraged from attributing deaths to COVID. State media reported that some 390,000 passengers were expected to travel from Shanghai train stations on Tuesday alone for what is known as the Spring Festival holiday - seen as the world's largest annual mass migration before COVID. As travellers moved through stations in Shanghai, China's largest city, some expressed optimism despite the risks.

☆ China's Lunar New Year travel offers spark of economic rebound from COVID crunch
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

While many analysts say a return to economic normality will be gradual as the impact of COVID weakens, some see the Lunar New Year as a welcome early consumption boost. But even as workers move out, health experts fear a broadening and deepening of its COVID outbreak, leaving the elderly in rural villages particularly vulnerable. The WHO earlier welcomed Saturday's announcement after last week warning that China was heavily under-reporting deaths from the virus. "This is especially important during periods of surges when the health system is severely constrained," the statement said on Monday. As travellers moved through stations in Shanghai, China's largest city, some expressed optimism despite the risks.

☆ Davos 2023: The World Economic Forum explained
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Siddharth K | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The World Economic Forum (WEF) returns to its snowy winter residency in the Swiss Alps this week with a record attendance of business and government leaders. The WEF's roots stretch back to 1971 when its founder Klaus Schwab invited executives from European companies to the then tiny ski resort of Davos, high in the Swiss Alps. With climate change top of the agenda, chiefs of major energy companies are back after a COVID-related hiatus. Others include IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde, NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He. Climate change topped the WEF's survey of global risk and energy company executives will mix with climate activists and environment ministers at the forum.

☆ WHO recommends that China monitor excess COVID-19 mortality
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON/GENEVA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday it recommended that China monitor excess mortality from COVID-19 to gain a fuller picture of the impact of the surge in cases there. China said on Saturday that nearly 60,000 people with COVID-19 had died in hospital since it abandoned its zero-COVID policy last month, a big jump from the figures it reported prior to facing international criticism over its COVID-19 data. "WHO recommends the monitoring of excess mortality, which provides us with a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of COVID-19," the U.N. agency told Reuters in a statement when asked about China. "This is especially important during periods of surges when the health system is severely constrained." "But it would be even more important to get full GSD (genetic sequence data) of circulating virus in China.

☆ China reports 60,000 COVID-related deaths, says peak passed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING — China on Saturday reported nearly 60,000 deaths in people who had COVID-19 since early December following complaints it was failing to release data, and said the “emergency peak” of its latest surge appears to have passed. The toll included 5,503 deaths due to respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 and 54,435 fatalities from other ailments combined with COVID-19 since Dec. 8, the National Health Commission announced. The report would more than double China’s official COVID-19 death toll to 10,775 since the disease was first detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019. China has counted only deaths from pneumonia or respiratory failure in its official COVID-19 death toll, a narrow definition that excludes many deaths that would be attributed to COVID-19 in other places. “These data show the national emergency peak has passed,” Jiao said at a news conference.

☆ WHO says its chief spoke with Chinese officials, welcomes COVID-19 data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke with Ma Xiaowei, director of China’s National Health Commission, about the wave of infections which erupted after the country abruptly dismantled its anti-virus regime last month. "WHO appreciates this meeting, as well as the public release of information on the overall situation," the Geneva-based agency said in a statement. The release follows global criticism of China's data. "The reported data indicate a decline in case numbers, hospitalizations, and those requiring critical care. WHO has requested a more detailed breakdown of data by province over time," the agency said.

☆ Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 accounts for 43% of U.S. COVID cases - CDC
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 13 (Reuters) - The fast-spreading Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is estimated to account for 43% of the COVID-19 cases in the United States for the week ended Jan. 14, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed on Friday. The subvariant accounted for about 30% of cases in the first week of January, higher than the 27.6% the CDC estimated last week. The World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier this week XBB.1.5 may spur more COVID-19 cases based on genetic characteristics and early growth rate estimates. The rise in the new variant correlated with an uptick in COVID-19 cases in United States over the last six weeks. Increased prevalence of XBB.1.5 cases has eclipsed the previously dominant Omicron subvariant BQ.1.1 and BQ.1, which were offshoots of BA.5.

☆ Uganda declares over Ebola outbreak that killed 55
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Elias Biryabarema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Motorists and cyclists are seen at a traffic light intersection in Kabuusu area of the Lubaga division amid the Ebola outbreak in Kampala, Uganda November 16, 2022. "We have successfully controlled the spread of Ebola in Uganda," Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng said during a ceremony to mark the outbreak's end. The outbreak killed 55 of the 143 people infected since September, according to health ministry figures. Unlike the more common strain of the virus, Ebola Zaire, which has been behind several recent epidemics in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, the strain behind Uganda's outbreak, Ebola Sudan, has no proven vaccine. Even so, experts said Uganda's experience battling previous outbreaks of Ebola and its viral cousin Marburg helped its response.

☆ Uganda declares itself Ebola-free after swiftly turning tide on outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Elias Biryabarema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Motorists and cyclists are seen at a traffic light intersection in Kabuusu area of the Lubaga division amid the Ebola outbreak in Kampala, Uganda November 16, 2022. "We have successfully controlled the spread of Ebola in Uganda," Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng said during a ceremony to mark the outbreak's end. Aceng said this was Uganda's eighth Ebola outbreak since 2000, when the country recorded its first and most deadly one that killed more than half of the 425 people it infected. In the early weeks of the outbreak, cases spread beyond the epicentre of Mubende, 150 km (90 miles) west of the capital Kampala, to several other districts, including Kampala. Unlike the more common strain of the virus, Ebola Zaire, which has been behind several recent epidemics in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, the strain behind Uganda's outbreak, Ebola Sudan, has no proven vaccine.

☆ WHO meeting to decide on COVID emergency set for Jan. 27
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - A World Health Organization committee will meet on Jan. 27 to consider whether the COVID-19 pandemic still represents a global emergency, a spokesperson said on Tuesday, three years after it was first declared. WHO spokesperson Carla Drysdale confirmed the timing of the meeting at a Geneva press briefing. The Emergency Committee advises WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus who makes the ultimate call on whether an outbreak represents a so-called Public Health Emergency of International Concern which is the U.N. agency's highest level of alert. Several leading scientists and WHO advisers say it may be too early to declare the end of the COVID-19 pandemic emergency phase because of high levels of infections in China which dismantled its zero-COVID policy last month. Reporting by Emma Farge Editing by Madeline ChambersOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ WHO Prods China to Release Reliable Covid-19 Data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Joyu Wang | Liyan Qi | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The World Health Organization in a briefing Wednesday urged Beijing to be more transparent about its Omicron outbreak, with some officials questioning the accuracy of the country’s Covid-19 data. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency is concerned about the surge in Covid-19 infections in China and again urged the Chinese government to deliver rapid and reliable data on hospitalizations and deaths.

☆ XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant is the most transmissible version of Covid yet, WHO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant that's currently dominating the U.S. is the most contagious version of Covid-19 yet, but it doesn't appear to make people sicker, according to the World Health Organization. "It is the most transmissible subvariant that has been detected yet," Van Kerkhove told reporters during a press conference in Geneva on Wednesday. It has been detected in 29 countries so far but it could be even more widespread, Van Kerkhove said. The WHO's advisory group that tracks Covid variants is conducting a risk assessment on XBB.1.5 that it will publish in the coming days, she said. "The more this virus circulates the more opportunities it will have to change," Van Kerkhove said.

That might ease some concerns about the outbreak since Beijing abruptly reversed its "zero COVID" policy last month. But many Chinese funeral homes and hospitals say they are overwhelmed, and international health experts predict at least 1 million COVID-related deaths in China this year without urgent action. But the WHO said there is "no inevitability" in terms of predictions of large numbers of deaths. "It really does depend on the measures that are in place," said the WHO's COVID-19 technical lead Maria van Kerkhove. She said the WHO was working with China to improve access to life-saving tools and cope with health workforce issues in badly-hit areas.

☆ World Health Organization needs more information on China COVID situation - Tedros
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ZURICH, Dec 30 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization needs more information to assess the latest surge in infections in China, Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. COVID infections have risen across China this month after Beijing dismantled its zero-COVID policies including regular PCR testing on its population. The United States, South Korea, India, Italy, Japan and Taiwan have all imposed COVID tests for travellers from China in response. "In order to make a comprehensive risk assessment of the COVID19 situation on the ground in #China, WHO needs more detailed information," Tedros said in a tweet late on Thursday. Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. and global health officials are worried about lack of transparency from China on Covid outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a statement Wednesday, said the lack of transparency from China could delay the identification of new Covid variants that pose a threat to public health. The CDC on Wednesday announced new testing requirements for airline passengers whose trips originate in China. India, Italy, Japan and Taiwan have also imposed Covid test requirements on airline passengers originating in China. A U.S. federal health official, in a call with reporters on Wednesday, said the Biden administration has very limited information on the number of new Covid cases, hospitalizations and particularly deaths in China. The World Health Organization has also called on China to share more information about what's transpiring on the ground as the virus spread.

☆ Hospital warns of ‘tragic battle’ as Covid spreads in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A Shanghai hospital has told its staff to prepare for a “tragic battle” with Covid-19 as it expects half of the city’s 25 million people will get infected by the end of next week, while the virus sweeps through China largely unchecked. China reported no new Covid deaths for a second consecutive day for Wednesday, even as funeral parlour workers say demand for their services has increased sharply over the past week. Authorities — who have narrowed the criteria for Covid deaths, prompting criticism from many disease experts — confirmed 389,306 cases with symptoms. A Covid patient is wheeled on a stretcher at hospital in China's southwestern city of Chongqing on Thursday. Footage from a Beijing hospital on CCTV state television showed rows of elderly patients in the intensive care unit breathing through oxygen masks.

Experts say China could face more than a million COVID deaths next year. Authorities in Sanya on the southern Hainan island have lined up 18 pharmacies to distribute free drugs. mRNA VACCINES FOR GERMANSIn China, only deaths caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure after contracting COVID are being classified as COVID fatalities. Germany said it has sent its first batch of BioNTech (22UAy.DE) COVID vaccines to China to be administered initially to German expatriates. China has nine domestically developed COVID vaccines approved for use.

☆ Beijing braces for surge in severe COVID cases as world watches with concern
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Bernard Orr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/4] People wearing face masks commute in a subway station during morning rush hour, following the coronavirus disease ( COVID-19) outbreak, in Beijing, China January 20, 2021. China, which uses a narrow definition of what can be classified as COVID fatalities, reported no new COVID deaths for Dec. 20, compared with five the previous day. Severe cases rose by 53 across China on Tuesday, versus an increase of 23 the previous day. China does not provide absolute figures of severe cases. Blood clots, heart problems and sepsis - an extreme body response to infection - have caused countless deaths among COVID patients around the world.

☆ Potential China wave is 'wild card' for ending COVID emergency - WHO advisors
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Jennifer Rigby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"It's clear that we are in a very different phase [of the pandemic], but in my mind, that pending wave in China is a wild card." Last week, he told reporters in Geneva that he was "hopeful" of an end to the emergency some time next year. Tedros's earlier comments spurred hopes that the United Nations agency could soon remove the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) designation for COVID, which has been in place since January 2020. Some global health experts had expected China to wait for the WHO to lift the emergency status before easing its own pandemic response measures. WHO member states are currently working on re-designing the rules that govern global health emergencies to potentially address issues like this.

☆ China's COVID spike not due to lifting of restrictions, WHO director says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The comments by the WHO's emergencies director Mike Ryan came as he warned of the need to ramp up vaccinations in the world's No. Speaking at a briefing with media, he said the virus was spreading "intensively" in the nation long before the lifting of restrictions. "There's a narrative at the moment that China lifted the restrictions and all of a sudden the disease is out of control," he said. "The disease was spreading intensively because I believe the control measures in themselves were not stopping the disease. Beijing started pivoting away from its signature "zero-COVID" policy this month after protests against the economically damaging curbs championed by President Xi Jinping.

☆ WHO chief says his uncle was murdered in Ethiopia's Tigray
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, Dec 14 (Reuters) - The head of the World Health Organization said on Wednesday that Eritrean troops "murdered" his uncle in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel did not respond to requests for comment on the allegations. The Ethiopian government and regional forces from Tigray agreed in November to cease hostilities last month in a major breakthrough. However, troops from Eritrea, to the north, and forces from the neighbouring Ethiopian region of Amhara, to the south, who fought alongside Ethiopia's military in Tigray were not party to the ceasefire. That followed the killing of his cousin last year in Tigray when a church was blown up, he said, without giving further details.

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