The World Health Organization (WHO) is providing direct support to Brazil, which became the first South American country to report a confirmed case of coronavirus disease, officially named COVID-19, a senior official said at a press briefing on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th February, 2020) The World Health Organization (WHO) is providing direct support to Brazil, which became the first South American country to report a confirmed case of coronavirus disease, officially named COVID-19, a senior official said at a press briefing on Thursday.
"It is disappointing to see South America as another continent, as such, exposed to this virus. We were speaking this morning ... with the regional director in the Americas, and we are already providing direct support to the Brazilian authorities in this matter," Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO Emergencies Program, said.
The senior health official said that he was confident in Brazilian authorities' capability to manage the spread of the coronavirus disease, citing the country's experience of dealing with epidemics of dengue fever and the Zika virus.
On Wednesday, health officials in the Latin American country confirmed that a 61-year-old Brazilian national who recently returned to Sao Paulo from Italy was carrying COVID-19. A total of 20 individuals are also suspected of carrying the disease, Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta said.
During the press briefing, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the organization was especially concerned with the spread of the disease across the globe. Ghebreyesus stated that over the past two days, the number of new cases reported outside of China has exceeded the number of new cases in China, where the disease originated.
As of 05:00 GMT, over 3,470 cases of COVID-19 have been reported outside of China in a total of 44 countries, Ghebreyesus stated. The director-general added that seven countries, including Brazil, reported their first confirmed case of the disease during the previous 24 hours.
COVID-19 originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late December and has since infected over 82,550 people worldwide, resulting in the deaths of more than 2,800 people. Over a third of the people who have contracted the disease have since been cured, including more than 3,140 people over the last 24 hours.
