World health experts will meet Thursday to assess COVID-19 pandemic

(UN News): International health experts will convene on Thursday to evaluate the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic and advise on updated recommendations, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday during his latest virtual press conference from Geneva. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained that the Emergency Committee meeting will mark three months since members agreed that the new coronavirus disease was an international global health emergency. “In the three months since the Emergency Committee last met, WHO has worked day in, day out to sound the alarm, support countries and save lives”, he said. The Emergency Committee consists of 15 independent experts from across the world brought together under a treaty known as the International Health Regulations (IHR), which guides global health response. COVID-19 first emerged in Wuhan, China, and at the time of its last meeting, there were just over 80 cases outside the country and no deaths. The global caseload has now approached nearly three million, and nearly 205,000 deaths.