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February 05, 2020
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WHO launches $675 million preparedness plan in response to coronavirus outbreak

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Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

During the first scheduled daily WHO briefing on the ongoing coronavirus outbreak centered in Wuhan, China, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, MSc, announced the launch of the Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan to support countries to in preventing, detecting and diagnosing onward transmission of the illness.

To pay for the plan, WHO is requesting $675 million to fund the plan for the next 3 months, including $60 million to fund WHO’s operations and the rest to assist the countries that are “especially at risk.”

“Our message to the international community is invest today or pay more later,” Tedros said during the briefing. “It is a lot of money [$675 million], but it is much less than the bill we will face if we do not invest in preparedness now.”

Tedros added that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have already offered to provide $100 million toward the effort.

During the meeting, WHO also announced the last 24 hours have produced the highest number of new cases in a single day since the start of the outbreak. To date, there have 24,363 confirmed cases in China, including 490 deaths, according to WHO. Outside of China, there are 191 cases in 24 countries and one reported death in the Philippines. According to WHO, 31 of the cases outside of China occurred in people with no travel history to China, but all are “confirmed close contacts of someone who traveled to or was from Wuhan.”

In a separate briefing today held by the CDC, it was announced that, in the United States, 206 people under investigation have tested negative for the novel coronavirus strain. Testing is pending for 76 others. According to the CDC, there are four airplanes carrying U.S. citizens from Wuhan to four U.S. military bases — Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska; Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California; Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego; and Lackland Air Force Base in in Bexar County, Texas. Officials says these passengers will be placed under quarantine for 14 days — the same precautions taken for a flight of U.S. citizens brought back from Wuhan to March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, California. CDC could not confirm the number of passengers aboard the four additional flights but said that two are scheduled to land Wednesday and two on Thursday.

“We understand that people are worried and concerned — and rightly so,” Tedros said. “But this is not a time for fear — it’s a time for rational, evidence-based action and investment, while we still have a window of opportunity to bring this outbreak under control.” – by Caitlyn Stulpin

Disclosure: Tedros reports no relevant financial disclosures.