Covid February 2020

February

1 February (11,946 cases)

• ECDC informs countries
  • 16 cases in EU (5 countries), with local transmission
  • China takes unprecedented control measures
  • Potential impact of 2019-nCoV is high
  • Moderate-High likelihood of more imported cases in EU
  • Likelihood of human-human transmission in EU is low if early detection of cases and adherence to appropriate IPC practices are implemented, in particular in health care settings

3 February (17,372 cases)

• Rapid Communication Eurosurveillance
  • 38 labs in 24 EU countries had COVID19 tests available
  • Availability of primers/probes, positive controls and personnel were main implementation barriers

5 February (24,522 cases)

• Global community asks for US$675 million to help protect vulnerable countries from the outbreak

8 February (34,933 cases)

• ECDC informs countries
  • 9 EU countries with cases (31)

10 February (40,540 cases)

• ECDC publishes “Guidelines for the use of non-pharmaceutical measures to delay and mitigate the impact of 2019-nCoV”
  • Hand Hygiene
  • Respiratory Hygiene (“Cough Etiquette”)
  • Face Masks & Respirators
    • In Health care: Surgical mask for suspected COVID19 cases. FFP masks for HCW during assessment & management
    • In other high exposures: Surgical masks for care providers of suspect COVID19 cases and those with extensive public contact
    • In Community: By individuals with respiratory symptoms before seeking medical attention
  • Other PPE:
    • HCW caring for COVID19, especially when aerosol-generating procedures.
  • Social distancing
    • Voluntary isolation of COVID19 cases in the community.
    • Close contacts: Isolation at home & active daily monitoring
    • Casual contacts: Self-monitoring
  • Schools:
    • school children are considered to be one of the main drivers of respiratory virus spread in the community. It is not yet known how much nCoV2 transmission will occur among children
    • proactive school closures may be considered if there is ongoing transmission of 2019-nCoV in an area.

• RKI meets with the national 2019-nCoV coordination team, and discuss the 14 2019-nCoV German cases and the observation that transmission to contacts seems to occur early in the infection, even when the level of contact is low. They also discuss observations that transmission can occur from asymptomatic cases and how this necessitates broad and sensitive test criteria to identify infected individuals.
  • The ECDC publication was not discussed in this light, nor the consequence for recommendations on mask-wearing

11 February (43,105 cases)

• Novel coronavirus disease named COVID-19
• WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros, announces a UN crisis management structure, led by 'my general' Dr Mike Ryan. In addition, Dr Tedros says that every country should take this virus very seriously. He is losing sleep over it, and he expects that every government should lose sleep over it. This virus should be seen as 'public health enemy nr 1' (see video at 30 minutes)
  • "There is a window of opportunity. If we lose it, we will regret it. You need to hit hard, fast" (see video at 13 minutes)

12 February (45,177 cases)

• Research and innovation forum sets priorities for COVID-19 research
  • More than 400 experts and funders met at WHO’s Geneva HQ to accelerate research to stop the COVID-19 outbreak. Featuring updates from the frontlines of the response in China, the meeting addressed issues such as: developing easy-to-apply diagnostics, accelerating existing vaccine candidates and preventing infection
• UN activates WHO-led Crisis Management Team
  • The Crisis Management Team (CMT) mechanism brings together WHO, OCHA, IMO, UNICEF, ICAO, WFP, FAO, the World Bank and several UN Secretariat departments.
  • The CMT will be managed by the Executive Director of WHO Health Emergencies Programme, Dr Mike Ryan. It will help WHO focus on the health response while the other agencies will bring their expertise to bear on the wider social, economic and developmental implications of the outbreak

13 February (60,328 cases)

• ECDC publishes “Guidance on community engagement for public health events caused by communicable disease threats in the EU/EEA”:
  • Through all three phases of the preparedness cycle
    1. Recognise the community as a partner
    2. Develop an understanding of community perceptions
    3. Optimise communications with at-risk communities
    4. Invest in a trusted spokesperson and long-term media relations.
  • Anticipation phase
    1. Map stakeholders and integrate them into preparedness planning
    2. Develop an accessible and inclusive preparedness and response training program
    3. Cultivate relationships with communities engaged in disease surveillance
    4. Engage with pre-existing community networks and infrastructures
    5. Set a research agenda in collaboration with community partners.
  • Response phase
    1. Coordinate distribution of information, protective equipment and other resources for and with community partners
    2. If using an all-hazards approach, recognize the special character of infectious disease outbreaks and act accordingly
    3. Facilitate resolving of possible issues with community-level financial losses.
  • Recovery phase
    1. Integrate and document community engagement in evaluation processes
    2. Promote community debriefing, dialogue and a culture of shared learning.

14 February (64,543 cases)

• ECDC RRA COVID19 (#4)
  • It is important that countries consider the roll-out of primary diagnostic testing capacity to local clinical and diagnostic laboratories.
  • Confirmatory testing remains the responsibility of the referral or reference laboratories.
  • Therefore, positive specimens should still be shipped for second detection assay and possible sequencing to referral or reference laboratories.
  • During the containment phase, extensive tracing and risk assessment of contacts of probable and confirmed cases detected in EU/EEA countries is required in order to minimize the further spread and to strengthen the evidence base on the characteristics and transmission pattern of the disease.
  • Suspected, probable or confirmed cases of COVID19 should be reported to the public health authorities and managed in accordance with national guidance and/or WHO’s patient management guidelines

15 February (67,103 cases)

• ECDC informs countries
  • Further P-P transmission in EU
  • Hospital associated transmission suspected in 41% of hospitalized Wuhan patients
• WHO
  • "We must be guided by solidarity, not stigma. The greatest enemy we face is not the virus itself; it’s the stigma that turns us against each other. We must stop stigma and hate.“ Dr. Tedros

17 February (71,332 cases)

• WHO issues guidance on mass gathering and taking care of ill travelers
  • Based on lessons from H1N1 and Ebola, WHO has outlined planning considerations for organizers of mass gatherings, in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. It has also issued advice on how to detect and take care of ill travelers, who are suspected COVID-19 cases.

18 February (73,327 cases)

• WHO has shipped supplies of personal protective equipment to 21 countries.
  • By the end of this week, 40 countries in Africa and 29 in the Americas are due to have the ability to detect COVID-19

21 February (76,719 cases)

• WHO Director-General warns that the window of opportunity is “narrowing”
• Special envoys on COVID-19 selected
  • Professor Dr Maha El Rabbat, former Minister of Health of Egypt;
  • Dr David Nabarro, former special adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General
  • Dr John Nkengasong, Director of the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention;
  • Dr Mirta Roses, former Director of the WHO Region of the Americas;
  • Dr Shin Young-soo, former Regional Director of the WHO Region of the Western Pacific;
  • Professor Samba Sow, Director-General of the Center for Vaccine Development in Mali.

22 February (77,804 cases)

• ECDC informs countries
  • Viral shedding expected to be similar to Influenza
• WHO
  • During the past month about 11 000 African health workers have been trained using WHO’s online courses on COVID-19, which are available free of charge in English, French & other languages
  • WHO’s Director-General and Regional Director for Africa addressed an emergency meeting of ministers of health to agree on a continental strategy for Africa to strengthen preparedness and responses to the COVID-19 outbreak

23 February (78,812 cases)

• ECDC informs countries
  • Viral shedding expected to be similar to Influenza
• WHO
  • During the past month about 11 000 African health workers have been trained using WHO’s online courses on COVID-19, which are available free of charge in English, French & other languages
  • WHO’s Director-General and Regional Director for Africa addressed an emergency meeting of ministers of health to agree on a continental strategy for Africa to strengthen preparedness and responses to the COVID-19 outbreak

24 February (79,339 cases)

• UN Secretary-General António Guterres met with the WHO Director-General and other WHO leaders, receiving a briefing on COVID-19, Ebola and polio. He expressed great admiration for health workers, including in China, who are working tirelessly to save lives. The UN Secretary-General also stressed that there is no space for stigma and discrimination and said we must be guided by science and human rights-based interventions
• A team of experts from WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) will focus on: understanding how events developed, learning from the Italian experience and supporting control and prevention efforts by the authorities.
• To limit further human to human transmission, WHO experts will provide support in the areas of clinical management, infection prevention and control, surveillance and risk communication.

25 February (80,132 cases)

• The team of 25 international and Chinese experts traveled to several different provinces, with a small group going to Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.
  • Among the team's findings was that the epidemic peaked and plateaued between the 23rd of January and the 2nd of February, and has been declining steadily since then. The team also estimates that the measures taken in China have averted a significant number of cases.
  • In a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday 25 February, Dr Bruce Aylward, the mission's lead, reported back on what China has done, its impact and implications.
• The WHO Director-General has repeatedly called for "solidarity, not stigma" to address COVID-19. 
  • WHO has worked with UNICEF and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on a guide to preventing and addressing the social stigma associated with the disease. 
  • It's vital to fight stigma because it can drive people to hide the illness, not seek health care immediately and discourage them from adopting healthy behaviors. 
  • This guide includes some tips and messages, as well as dos and don'ts on language when talking about COVID-19.

26 February (80,995 cases)

• ECDC publishes Checklist for hospitals preparing for the reception and care of (COVID-19) patients
  • Elements to be assessed have been divided into the following areas:
    • Establishment of a core team and key internal and external contact points
    • Human, material and facility capacity
    • Communication and data protection
    • Hand hygiene, personal protective equipment (PPE), and waste management
    • Triage, first contact and prioritisation
    • Patient placement, moving of the patients in the facility, and visitor access
    • Environmental cleaning
• WHO: Get your workplace ready for COVID-19

27 February (82,101 cases)

• WHO: What every country should be asking itself
  • Are we ready for the first case?
  • Do we have enough medical oxygen, ventilators and other vital equipment?
  • How will we know if there are cases in other areas of the country?
  • Do our health workers have the training and equipment they need to stay safe?
  • Do we have the right measures at airports and border crossings to test people who are sick?
  • Do our labs have the right chemicals that allow them to test samples?
  • Are we ready to treat patients with severe or critical disease?
  • Do our hospitals and clinics have the right procedures to prevent and control infections?
  • Do our people have the right information? Do they know what the disease looks like?

28 February (83,365 cases)

• WHO: What every individual can do to protect themselves and others

29 February (85,203 cases)

• ECDC informs countries
  • In EU: 770 cases / 18 deaths in 19 countries

Koordinierungsstelle des RKI Agenda der 2019nCoV-Lage-AG 10 Februar 2020