Statement – Countries must work together as COVID-19 pandemic accelerates

Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe

Copenhagen, 31 March 2020

Good morning, your Excellencies, and thank you for once again joining this morning’s briefing.

Thank you so much, Your Royal Highness, the Crown Princess of Denmark, and Patron of WHO/Europe, for your generous words. We are grateful for your unwavering commitment to WHO and public health, and for offering your support during these unprecedented times. I would also like to thank Dr David Nabarro, appointed by Dr Tedros as one of six special envoys on COVID-19, for joining us. We are honoured that his formidable expertise is providing strategic advice and high-level political advocacy on this global pandemic.

Large increase in cases

As always, our thoughts are, first and foremost, with those whose lives and health are directly affected by the virus. This is a moment in our lives when all of us – citizens, family members, public health experts and leaders – find ourselves deeply concerned about how the situation in our countries and communities is developing. What are the consequences of the short-term decisions that we are taking, and what are the long-term implications? What new world will we have created at the end of this journey?

Since we last spoke 12 days ago, the number of confirmed cases and deaths reported across the WHO European Region has increased more than 5-fold to 393 285 cases and 23 966 deaths. And in the span of just a single week, the number of cases globally has doubled and will soon reach 700 000.

Let us be clear: many other countries, particularly in the western part of the Region, are now seeing widespread community transmission. Europe, together with North America, are now the epicentres of the pandemic.

Yesterday, Italy marked its first 100 000 cases, while Spain is also on a trajectory to approach this level. On a positive note, we are seeing some encouraging results with lower rates of increase of new cases observed in Italy.

The countries in the Region are at very different stages of the pandemic. Even one case is too many, and our response has to be bold and decisive across all countries in the Region.

As we speak, 4000 patients are in intensive care units in Italy. In Spain, 6% of patients require access to intensive care units, stretching the capacity of health systems that otherwise would be able to care for critical patients under normal circumstances. But not under the circumstances we find ourselves in today.  
These figures relay a sharp warning: The pace of this pandemic is accelerating.

Key messages for countries

I have three messages for you today.

Your Excellencies, you understand the strength of global solidarity, and this leads me to my first point – we must work together, united on all fronts. This is a global crisis requiring a global, coordinated response. Leaders at the highest levels of government and industry need to work together to provide guidance, agree on strategy, devise protocols, and protect people, now as well as in the aftermath of the crisis.

It is now 13 weeks since we were notified of this novel virus. However, the global shortage of personal protective equipment, PPE, continues to put our front-line responders in danger – and that puts us all in danger. I urge your governments to repurpose production sites, lift export bans and let our supply chain work efficiently and effectively, without harmful barriers at borders. We are as strong as our weakest link. We also ask you to allow our WHO experts to enter the communities in need, to assist countries in their fight to save lives, and to help the most vulnerable. Wherever possible, we work from afar, but this is not always feasible. Some countries need WHO support and supplies while we are poised and ready at the border, waiting to be allowed in.

I can assure you all that, at WHO/Europe, we are giving it our all. Alongside the tireless work of our Emergencies Team, I have personally reached out to prime ministers, ministers, director generals and chief medical officers. I frequently convene ministries from all corners of the Region, especially on a sub-regional basis in the Western Balkans and Central Asia, and among small countries. In the coming days, I am planning a video conference with the Mayor of Moscow, the Prime Minister of Belarus, and the Executive Secretary of the NIS Council. Our work with partners continues to pay dividends for the Region, with the European Commission yesterday announcing its COVID-19 support package to the Eastern Partnership countries, including a €30 million contribution to WHO/Europe to support 6 Member States.

Secondly, I urge your governments to do their absolute best to protect, support and mobilize your health workforce, including caring for their state of mental health. While the COVID-19 pandemic is harming many, we must also remember that people with other diseases, both chronic and acute, require care.

We must do our best to maintain continuity of essential health care services while freeing up capacity for the COVID-19 response by training, repurposing and mobilizing the health workforce according to priority services. Those who are quarantined or isolated at home need to be supported, and some need specialized care services. This is a big challenge for all countries, I know, but one that we must tackle together so that no one is left behind.

My third point today is to urge your governments to implement what we know is working and to stand firmly behind it.

Blended actions to strengthen health services

The countries that have been one step ahead of the virus – China, Singapore and South Korea – have done whatever it takes to find, test, isolate and treat every case, and trace every contact. They have taken bold steps to make their health systems fit-for-purpose. Without aggressive blended actions that are tailored to the specific scenario of each and every country, millions could die.

It is important to share valuable information on what countries in the European Region are doing to improve and strengthen their health systems response in a timely manner. That’s why I have launched a new initiative – the Health Systems Response Monitor. I have tasked the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies to map the policy measures taken by countries and to make it accessible on a platform to be updated continuously, and which will be translated into Russian. I urge your governments to share their experiences and engage with us and each other.

In closing, let me repeat my three take-home messages – requests – to your governments. We must:

1. Work together to remove barriers to the response
2. Support our health workforce
3. Implement what we know is working.

I thank you for your attention and express my sincere gratitude to HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and Dr David Nabarro for joining us today.