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UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General António Guterres said the loss of 1 million people to the 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) was an “agonizing milestone” that had been compounded by the “savagery of this sickness”.
In a statement released after the global death toll from the pandemic surpassed one million, Guterres called it an “overwhelming figure.”
“They were fathers and mothers, wives and husbands, brothers and sisters, friends and colleagues,” he said. “The pain has been multiplied by the savagery of this disease. Risks of infection kept families away from beds. And the process of mourning and celebrating a life often became impossible. “
Guterres warned that “there is no end in sight for the spread of the virus, the loss of jobs, the interruption of education, the disruption in our lives.”
Still, he said the pandemic could be overcome with responsible leadership, cooperation and science, as well as precautions such as social distancing and the use of face masks. He said that any vaccine must be “available and affordable for everyone.”
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that some 120 million rapid tests for Covid-19 would be made available to the poorest countries at $ 5 each if it can find the money.
The WHO said the $ 600 million scheme would allow low- and middle-income countries to close the dramatic gap in testing for the new coronavirus.
The rapid tests, which will be distributed in 133 countries over the next six months, are not as reliable as standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) nasal swab tests, but they are much faster, cheaper and easier to perform.
“We have an agreement, we have seed funding and now we need the full amount of funds to purchase these tests,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference.
Last week, the WHO issued the first emergency use list for a quality antigen-based rapid diagnostic test (RDT), with others expected to follow.
“A substantial proportion of these rapid tests, 120 million, will be available to low- and middle-income countries,” Tedros said. “These tests provide reliable results in approximately 15 to 30 minutes, rather than hours or days, at a lower price, with less sophisticated equipment.”
“This will allow for the expansion of testing, particularly in hard-to-reach areas that do not have laboratory facilities or enough trained health workers to perform PCR testing,” he added.
No laboratory required
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which is jointly convening the WHO-led joint global search for Covid-19 diagnoses, is contributing $ 50 million from its Covid-19 response fund.
Global Fund Executive Director Peter Sands said that PDRs were not a silver bullet, but a very valuable addition to PCR testing.
“Although they are a little less accurate, they are much faster, cheaper and do not require a laboratory,” Sands said. “This will allow low- and middle-income countries to begin closing the dramatic testing gap.”
Sands said that currently, high-income countries are conducting 292 tests per day for every 100,000 people; upper middle income countries 77; lower-middle-income countries, 61; and low-income countries, 14.
He said that if the poorest countries tested at the same rate as the richest, 120 million tests would not last two weeks.
The tests could be used where PCR testing is not available; quickly test contacts where a case has been confirmed by a PCR test; and in places with widespread community transmission.
Sands said the first orders were due to arrive this week.
The tests are being produced by two companies: the American multinational Abbott Laboratories and SD BioSensor, based in South Korea.
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