Latest updates on the pandamia produced by the coronavirus (COVID-19). The situation is very serious in Italy and Spain. We recommend that everyone continue with the maximum prevention and containment measures. Staying at home is the best measure that exists today. Take the disease seriously !!
Every day, COVID-19 seems to reach a new and tragic milestone. More than 290,000 cases have now been reported to WHO, and more than 12,000 people have lost their lives (23/03/2020).
Within a week, countries around the world have gone from: “This coronavirus thing is not a big deal” to declaring the state of emergency. Yet many countries are still not doing much. Why?
Every day, we are learning more about this virus and the disease it causes. One of the things we are learning is that although older people are the hardest hit, younger people are not spared. Data from many countries clearly show that people under 50 make up a significant proportion of patients requiring hospitalization.
Therefore a clear message for young people: you are not invincible. This virus could put you in hospital for weeks, or even kill you. Even if you don’t get sick, the choices you make about where you go could be the difference between life and death for someone else.
We recommend that everyone continue with the maximum prevention and containment measures. Staying at home is the best measure that exists today. Take the disease seriously !! Solidarity is the key to defeating COVID-19 - solidarity between countries, but also between age groups.
As you can see in the article from Tomas Pueyo, "Coronavirus: The Hammer and the Dance", countries have two options: either they fight it hard now, or they will suffer a massive epidemic. If they choose the epidemic, hundreds of thousands will die. In some countries, millions. And that might not even eliminate further waves of infections. If we fight hard now, we will curb the deaths. We will relieve our healthcare system. We will prepare better.
We will learn.
The world has never learned as fast about anything, ever. And we need it, because we know so little about this virus. All of this will achieve something critical: Buy Us Time.
If we don’t take these measures, tens of millions will be infected, many will die, along with anybody else that requires intensive care, because the healthcare system will have collapsed.
In fact, as COVID-19 cases continue to increase, many countries are requesting individuals to stay at home in self-quarantine. WHO EURO has released a guide on how to stay physically active during self-quarantine. Information can be found here.
WHO Health Alert brings COVID-19 facts to billions via WhatsApp. WHO is launching a messaging service with partners WhatsApp and Facebook to keep people safe from coronavirus. This easy-to-use messaging service has the potential to reach 2 billion people and enables WHO to get information directly into the hands of the people that need it. From government leaders to health workers and family and friends, this messaging service will provide the latest news and information on coronavirus including details on symptoms and how people can protect themselves and others. It also provides the latest situation reports and numbers in real time to help government decision-makers protect the health of their populations.
The service can be accessed through a link that opens a conversation on WhatsApp. Users can simply type “hi” to activate the conversation, prompting a menu of options that can help answer their questions about COVID-19.
Stay at home! Take the illness seriously.