"WHO Requests COVID-19 Research with Han... International Cooperation Intensifies"

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), declared a pandemic regarding the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during a press briefing held at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on the 11th (local time). He stated that COVID-19 can "now be characterized as a pandemic."

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The Korean government revealed on the 14th that the World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed its intention to participate in research on the clinical characteristics of patients infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

At a briefing on the same day, Kwon Jun-wook, Deputy Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, said, "We are planning to conduct a prospective epidemiological cohort study on COVID-19 patients occurring domestically, and WHO has requested to participate in that research." He added, "With the rapid increase in cases worldwide, especially in Europe, there is interest in clinical characteristics, treatment responses, features of severe and fatal cases, and immunological traits. It is a time when international guidelines need to be newly revised and supplemented, and currently, our country holds a very important position, which is why such a request was made."

It has not yet been decided whether joint research will be conducted between WHO and Korean disease control authorities or research institutions. However, given the international health crisis and the precedent of WHO conducting on-site investigations in China and sharing research results, there is a high possibility of positive progress. Deputy Director Kwon stated, "From our disease control headquarters' perspective, all data, research design, and publications will be led by our government, and we are consulting with WHO on that basis."

Currently, a significant number of medical personnel worldwide, including in Korea, are mostly utilizing clinical information from China regarding COVID-19 patient treatment. This is because the outbreak started earlier there, resulting in a large number of patients and numerous treatment cases. Since the first patient was confirmed domestically in January, over 8,000 patients have been reported, with more than 700 recoveries, allowing frontline medical staff to accumulate considerable experience.

Deputy Director Kwon also conveyed, "Regular or as-needed remote teleconferences are held to exchange opinions between disease control agencies of China and Japan, and opinions are exchanged with Israel, the European Union, and others upon request."

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