David Nabarro, an envoy for the WHO on Covid-19, said the world will have to adapt to the ongoing problem
The world must live with the threat of coronavirus ‘for the foreseeable future’ as there is no guarantee of a successful vaccine, an expert on the disease has said.
David Nabarro, professor of global health at Imperial College London and an envoy for the WHO on Covid-19, said the globe will have to adapt to the ongoing problem.
It comes as the number of cases worldwide surged past 2.3million, with 160,000 deaths.
Dr Nabarro told the Observer: ‘You don’t necessarily develop a vaccine that is safe and effective against every virus. Some viruses are very, very difficult when it comes to vaccine development.
‘So for the foreseeable future, we are going to have to find ways to go about our lives with this virus as a constant threat.
‘That means isolating those who show signs of the disease and also their contacts. Older people will have to be protected. In addition, hospital capacity for dealing with cases will have to be ensured. That is going to be the new normal for us all.’
Researchers around the world are desperately working on developing a breakthrough vaccine.
Nabarro’s comments come as researchers around the world desperately work on developing a vaccine (pictured, a candidate to be used in a trial in Oxford)
But a top Oxford University professor leading the charge for a cure warned it is not ‘certain’ it will be possible to produce a vaccine.
Professor Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology, told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: ‘That’s why we have to do trials to find out. The prospects are very good, but it is clearly not completely certain.’
Professor Sarah Gilbert of Oxford University warned it is not ‘certain’ it will be possible to produce a vaccine
Prof Gilbert said her team has not immunised anyone yet, but they hope to start clinical trials towards the end of next week.
‘We are waiting for the final safety tests to be done on the vaccine and the final approvals to be given.’
In the meantime, permission has been given to recruit volunteers, take blood tests, explain the process and check their health status, she said.
‘By the time we have all the approvals for the vaccine ready, we should have a good pool of volunteers to draw from and we should be able to get going quite quickly.’
Scientists are also investigating using llamas in the quest, according to the Sunday Times, with a new Belgian study showing antibodies obtained from llama blood can help neutralise the coronavirus responsible for Covid-19.
With lab rats and mice having also been used in coronavirus research, South Korean scientists say ferrets could have a role to play in testing vaccines too because when infected with Covid-19 they responded similarly to humans, the Times said.
Meanwhile, former health secretary Jeremy Hunt says the pandemic has shown the need for countries to work together in a new global health system involving better co-operation between governments.
This map shows coronavirus cases and deaths around the world. The United States has the largest outbreak with more than 700,000 infections
Mr Hunt said global health security would be ‘on that small but critical list’ of issues, such as climate change, that can only be solved through international working.
Across the globe countries are starting to take different routes to tackle the coronavirus.
US President Donald Trump revealed his three-phase plan to ‘open up America again’ in a press briefing on Thursday, saying it will be done ‘one careful step at a time’.
He said: ‘Based on the latest data, our team of experts now agree that we can begin the next front in our war, which we’re calling ”opening up America again”.
‘Our approach outlines three phases in restoring our economic life. We are not opening all at once, but one careful step at a time.’
Meanwhile China’s outbreak has eased and the ruling Communist Party has allowed factories to reopen, but analysts have been cutting growth forecasts as negative trade and other data pile up.
‘I don’t think we will see a real recovery until the fourth quarter or the end of the year,’ said economist Zhu Zhenxin at the Rushi Finance Institute in Beijing.
The country reported its first GDP contraction since at least the early 1990s after several decades of breakneck growth.
Japan also reported a fresh surge of 556 new cases on Saturday, pushing its total to over 10,000.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed concern on Friday that people were not observing social distancing and announced a 100,000-yen cash handout to each resident as an incentive to stay home.
Governments worldwide are wrestling with when and how to lift virus-control measures as unemployment rises.
Mandatory lockdowns to stop the spread of the new virus, which has so far infected more than 2.3million people and for which there is no vaccine, have brought widespread hardship.
People carry a fake body bag during a protest against US President Donald Trump and his policies outside Trump International Hotel in New York amid the coronavirus outbreak
Italian Red Cross workers pictured moving a sealed stretchers into an ambulance. Italy currently has over 170,000 infections and a total of more than 22,000 deaths
In a joint statement on Saturday, a group of 13 countries including Canada, Brazil, Italy and Germany called for global cooperation to lessen the economic impact of the pandemic.
‘It is vital that we work together to save lives and livelihoods,’ they said.
The group, which also includes Britain, France, Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, South Korea, Singapore and Turkey, said it was committed to ‘work with all countries to coordinate on public health, travel, trade, economic and financial measures in order to minimise disruptions and recover stronger’.
The countries emphasised the need to maintain ‘air, land and marine transportation links’ to ensure the continued flow of goods including medical equipment and aid, and the return home of travellers.
Most governments remain cautious, even as the economic toll rises.
Public health experts warn easing shutdowns must be accompanied by wider testing and tracing of infected people to keep the virus from coming back.
A taxi driver displays a vinyl curtain installed between the driver’s seat and the back seat as a preventative measure against coronavirus in Fukuoka, Japan, on Saturday
Face masks hang in the sun on a line in Cape Town, South Africa, yesterday. South Africa is on total lockdown until the end of April to try to stem the spread of the disease
Health workers applaud in support of the medical staff that are working on the coronavirus outbreak at the Puerta de Hierro hospital in Majadahonda, Spain, on Saturday
The Trump administration pledged another $19billion in relief for farmers reeling from a massive jolt to agricultural markets with schools and restaurants shuttered across the country.
Part of the funds will be used to buy up surplus dairy products and produce that farmers have been destroying, unable to get it to consumers or food processors.
‘Having to dump milk and plow under vegetables ready to market is not only financially distressing, but it’s heartbreaking as well to those who produce them,’ Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said.
African state leaders and global financial bodies warned Friday that the continent needed tens of billions of dollars in additional funds to fight the outbreak.
The IMF also warned the virus could spark another ‘lost decade’ in Latin America and backed debt moratoriums for the region’s fragile economies.
Singapore, which has been held up as a model for other nations after taking strong measures to clamp down on the virus, reported a new daily record of 942 infections on Saturday that saw its total surge to 5,992.
Supporters of Wuhan Zall football team welcome the team as they arrive at Wuhan railway station on Saturday in Hubei, China. The team finished a prolonged journey amid the pandemic
A member of a medical assistant team embraces her daughter as she finishes a 14-day quarantine after returning home from Wuhan on Saturday in Hangzhou, China
Two people watch an online live stream on their computer of the global concert ‘One World Together at Home’ in Zagreb amid the ongoing lockdown on Croatia
A police officer stands with a loud speaker by a crossing in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo yesterday. The capital has seen emptier streets and significant drops in daily commuters
The number of cases in the city-state has more than doubled just this week alone amid an explosion of cases among foreign workers staying in crowded dormitories, that now make up 60% of Singapore’s infections.
Spain reached 20,000 deaths and total infections increased to more than 190,000. The country’s health authorities reported 565 deaths in the last 24 hours.
In Africa, the pandemic is only just getting under way.
The continent now has more than 1,000 coronavirus deaths, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
52 of the continent’s 54 countries have reported the virus, with the total number of cases more than 19,800 as of Saturday morning.
Top leaders of China’s ruling Communist Party called for deficit spending and a more flexible monetary policy after the economy shrank 6.8% in the first three months of the year.
France’s lower house of parliament approved an emergency budget overnight that takes into account the government’s 110 billion euro (£95 billion) plan to save the economy from virus-related collapse.
The government has warned that France’s economy, one of the world’s biggest, could shrink 8% this year and see its worst recession since the Second World War.
South Korea’s Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said on Saturday that new guidelines could be issued soon that officials have said would allow people to engage in ‘certain levels of economic and social activity’.
The East Asian country was among the 13 nations to issue the joint statement on protecting global trade.
The declaration also stressed ‘the importance and critical role of the scientific community in providing guidance to governments,’ and suggested pooling scientific resources and efforts to tackle the pandemicThe outbreak has killed at least 154,000 people worldwide, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally based on figures supplied by government health authorities around the globe.
No human-to-human transmission, no travel bans, but lots of praise for China: WHO’s reaction to coronavirus
December 31 – China first reports a cluster of unusual pneumonia cases in Wuhan to the WHO
January 4 – WHO tweets about ‘a cluster of pneumonia cases’ in Wuhan with no deaths, saying investigations into the cause are underway
January 5 – The WHO issues its first guidance on ‘pneumonia of unknown cause’, saying there are a total of 44 patients and 11 in severe condition. Main symptom is listed as fever, with ‘a few patients having difficulty breathing’. The WHO says there is ‘no evidence of human-to-human transmission’ and that ‘no health care worker infections have been reported’
January 7 – China says it has identified the cause of the pneumonia as a ‘novel coronavirus’, initially named 2019-nCoV by the WHO
January 9 – The WHO praises China for identifying the new virus ‘in a short space of time’ and repeats its assessment that the virus ‘does not transmit readily between people’. It also advises against travel or trade restrictions on China
January 13 – WHO says it is now working with authorities in Thailand after reports of a case there, and may call a meeting of the Emergency Committee
January 14 – The WHO tweets saying there is ‘no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission in China’, though later clarifies and says there may have been limited transmission via family members
Jan 20-21 – WHO’s field team in China conducts a brief field visit to epicentre Wuhan
Jan 21 – The first case is confirmed on US soil in Washington, in a person who had travelled from China a week before
Jan 22 – A report from the WHO team sent to Wuhan notes ‘human-to-human’ transmission is taking place, but says more research is needed to assess ‘the full extent’. The report notes confirmed infections in 16 medics, a clear sign of transmission from patients
The team recommends avoiding large gatherings, isolating infected people, and a focus on washing hands as the best way to combat the virus’s spread
The same day, that WHO Emergency Committee convenes for the first time. Afterwards, Dr Tedros says he has spoken with the Chinese Minister for Health, and praises the government for its ‘invaluable’ efforts to halt the virus. He calls a second meeting for the following day
Jan 23 – With the Emergency Committee split, Dr Tedros says he has decided not to declare the virus a public health emergency of international concern. Referencing the lockdown of Wuhan, which was announced the same day, he says he hopes ‘it will be effective and short in duration’. He praises China’s ‘cooperation and transparency’ in tackling the virus
Dr Tedros says there is limited evidence of human-to-human transmission, mostly among families or doctors treating the virus. At this point, there are 584 confirmed cases and 17 deaths globally, including in Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Thailand and the US
He recommends screening at airports and tells countries to put testing facilities in place, but stops short of recommending a travel ban
Jan 28 – Dr Tedros and other senior WHO officials meet Xi Jinping in China, agreeing that a panel of experts should be sent to monitor the outbreak. He praises ‘the seriousness with which China is taking this outbreak, especially the commitment from top leadership and the transparency they have demonstrated’
Jan 29 – Dr Tedros gives a speech praising China’s efforts to contain the virus, saying the country ‘deserves our gratitude and respect’ for locking down swathes of the country to prevent the spread.
He notes a few cases of human-to-human spread outside China, which he says ‘is of grave concern’ and will be monitored closely
Jan 30 – The WHO Emergency Committee reconvenes early and declares a public health emergency of international concern. It comes after confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission in Germany, Japan, Vietnam and the US
Dr Tedros again praises China for ‘setting a new standard for outbreak response’ with its lockdowns, and says the small number of cases outside the country – 98 – is ‘thanks to their efforts’
Despite noting that a majority of cases outside China have a history of travel to or from Wuhan, he again recommends no measures to curb international travel or trade
Jan 31 – Donald Trump announces travel restrictions on people coming from China
Feb 3 – Dr Tedros gives a speech to the WHO updating on coronavirus, saying there are 17,238 cases in China and 361 deaths – now though to be an under-estimate
He praises Xi Jinping for his individual leadership, and insists that cases outside China ‘can be managed’ if world authorities work together and follow recommendations which include – no ban on travel or trade, supporting countries with weak health systems, investment in vaccines and diagnosis, combating disinformation and urgent reviews of emergency preparedness
Feb 7 – Dr Li Wenliang, a doctor who first reported the existence of coronavirus and was initially silenced by China, dies from the virus
Feb 10 – The WHO’s team of experts arrives in China to assist with the outbreak
Feb 11 – The WHO names the disease caused by the virus COVID-19, saying it avoided including a geographical name because it risks ‘stigmatizing’ people. It says it will not be using the name SARS-CoV-2 because it risks causing ‘unnecessary fear’ by linking it to the 2003 SARS outbreak
Feb 12 – Dr Tedros says the number of new cases being reported in China has ‘stabilised’ but adds that it must be ‘interpreted with extreme caution’ and the outbreak ‘could still go in any direction’
Feb 16-24 – WHO team of experts convenes in China, visiting affected sites and sharing information on the best ways to tackle the crisis
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a daily press briefing on COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, at the WHO headquaters in Geneva
Feb 17 – Dr Tedros begins chairing daily updates on the coronavirus response, with each briefing beginning with an update on the number of infections including from China, which are repeated without caveats
He give an analysis of Chinese data on some 44,000 confirmed cases. He says the data shows that 80 per cent of cases are mild, 14 per cent lead to severe disease, and 2 per cent are fatal. The disease is more severe in older people, with the young largely spared.
He urges world leaders not to ‘squander’ a window of opportunity to get ahead of the virus and prevent it from spreading
Feb 26 – Donald Trump announces a dedicated coronavirus response team, which Mike Pence will lead
Feb 28 – The team of WHO experts delivers its first report on the coronavirus. Among its major findings are that the disease likely came from bats, that it is spread through close contact with infected people and not through the air, and that most common symptoms include fever, dry cough and fatigue
The report praises China’s response as ‘perhaps the most ambitious, agile and aggressive disease containment effort in history’ saying lockdowns were achieved ‘due to the deep commitment of the Chinese people to collective action’ and had achieved a rapid decline in cases
Mar 9 – The whole of Italy is placed on lockdown as the virus spreads, the first European nation to enter total lockdown
Mar 11 – The WHO declares coronavirus a pandemic, meaning it is spreading out of control in multiple locations around the world. At this point, cases have been reported in more than 100 countries
Mar 13 – WHO says Europe is now the new epicentre of the virus after cases increase steeply, with Dr Tedros noting ‘more cases are now being reported every day than were reported in China at the height of its epidemic’
Mar 19 – China reports no new domestic infections from coronavirus since the pandemic began
Mar 20 – Dr Tedros issues a warning that ‘young people are not invincible’ to the virus after data from outside showed large numbers of people under the age of 50 ending up in intensive care
Mar 25 – As Donald Trump begins touting hydroxychloroquine as a potential coronavirus treatment, WHO warns that no drugs have so far been approved for treating the virus
The same day the organization calls for an extra $2billion in funding to help tackle the virus
Apr 3 – As millions of US citizens sign on for unemployment benefit, Dr Tedros and the IMF call for debt relief and social welfare to help people through the pandemic
Apr 6 – The WHO updates its guidance on masks to say they are effective at stopping spread of the virus, but must be used in conjunction with other methods.
It comes after the CDC updated its guidance to advise people to wear masks in public
Apr 8 – Following Trump’s first barrage of criticism for the WHO, Dr Tedros urges world leaders to ‘stop politicising the pandemic’ unless they want ‘more body bags’
Apr 13 – A group of scientists convened by WHO to research a vaccine for coronavirus issue a joint statement urging world leaders to keep listening to the scientific community when responding to the virus