|
| 
Published
Thursday, November 5, 2020
Covid-19 Emergency Committee
urges stronger focus on science
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Emergency Committee on covid-19 of the World Health Organization, WHO, on a review of the situation and progress made on the temporary recommendations, advising that the pandemic still constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, and urges a focus on response efforts based on lessons learned and strong science.
According to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, the organization will continue to work in partnership across the world to drive science, solutions and solidarity.
The committee expressed appreciation for WHO’s leadership and activities throughout the global response, including its critical role in developing evidence-based guidance, providing countries with technical assistance and critical supplies and equipment, communicating clear information and addressing misinformation.
The committee provided concrete and target advice for WHO and countries to focus on for the upcoming months. It emphasized the importance of evidence-informed, risk-based and coherent measures in relation to international traffic, surveillance and contract tracing efforts, maintaining essential health services including mental health services, and preparing plans for future covid-19 vaccines.
The committee urged countries to avoid politicization of the pandemic response, seen as a major detriment to global efforts.
According to WHO, the global number of cases reported had reached 44 million, with over 1.1 million people died due to covid-19.
Meanwhile, in Costa Rica, the Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday the following updated statistics of the covid-19 contagion in the country:
• 1,141 new covid-19 cases, bringing the total to 42,687 active cases.
• 17,680 foreign-born people have been infected with a total of 113,261 cases since March, approximately 15.6% of the total cases. Of these, authorities confirmed the death of 32 foreign-born patients.
• 451 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 179 patients are in ICU’s in delicate health conditions (ages range from a 1-year-old to a 93-year-old). And 272 patients are in recovery rooms. Many of the remaining infected patients are quarantined in their homes.
• 69,143 coronavirus patients have fully recovered, which is a 61% recovery rate of the total cases since March.
• 1,431 deaths of people infected with covid-19, approximately 1.3% death rate of the total cases since March. Of these 545 women and 866 men. The ages range from a 9-year-old to a 100-year-old person.
In October authorities stopped providing the updated statistics on people who have been ruled out and the number of medical covid-19 tests that have been made.
Readers can see the updated number of total
patients in each district at the National Distance
Education University on its Covid-19 Map.
According to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering, CSSE, at Johns Hopkins University, the pandemic has killed 1,224,415 people worldwide.
-------------------------
How could the politicization of the pandemic response cause a detriment to health workers' efforts to try to contain the spread of the virus? We would like to know
your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com
|
