WHO Secretary-General: "Han Shows Progress in Fight Against COVID-19"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), stated on the 8th (local time) that South Korea is making progress in the fight against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

On the same day, Director-General Ghebreyesus posted on his Twitter along with a photo of Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, saying, "Had a very productive call." He added, "WHO appreciates their commitment to suppress COVID-19 and save lives," emphasizing, "We are grateful to Minister Kang for pledging $3 million (about 3.6 billion KRW) for the global response to COVID-19."

This remark appears to reflect the recent somewhat stagnant trend in the spread of COVID-19 within South Korea. The Korean government announced on the day that the spread of COVID-19 in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions is showing a 'stagnant trend,' judging it as the early stage of stabilization. As of midnight that day, the daily number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Korea showed a declining trend, with 518 cases on the 5th, 483 on the 6th, and 367 on the 7th.

Director-General Ghebreyesus also stated, "All countries must activate emergency response mechanisms and scale up necessary measures to respond to COVID-19," mentioning South Korea, China, Italy, and the United States as countries taking emergency response measures. He further noted, "Each country can utilize existing respiratory disease surveillance systems," citing South Korea's drive-through testing centers as an example.

Additionally, he posted a message highly praising the Italian government's lockdown of the northern region. On Twitter, he said, "The Italian government and people are taking bold and courageous measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect the nation and the world," adding, "They are making real sacrifices. WHO stands in solidarity with Italy and is here to continue supporting you."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.