Email: 65 virus cases, with 1 cluster, in WHO Geneva staff

The World Health Organization has recorded 65 circumstances of the coronavirus amongst staff based mostly at its headquarters, together with no less than one cluster of infections, an inside e-mail obtained by The Associated Press exhibits, regardless of the company’s previous assertions that there was no transmission on the Geneva website.

The revelation comes amid a surge of circumstances in Europe, host nation Switzerland, and town of Geneva, in explicit, and the e-mail stated about half of the infections had been in individuals who had been working from residence. But 32 had been amongst staff who had been working on-premises on the headquarters constructing, indicating that the well being company’s strict hygiene, screening and different prevention measures weren’t adequate to spare it from the pandemic.

Farah Dakhlallah, a WHO spokeswoman, confirmed the accuracy of the details about the case depend in an e-mail to the AP and that officers had been nonetheless investigating.

“We have not yet established whether transmission occurred on campus, but are looking into the matter,” Dakhlallah stated.

HOW DO THE MODERNA AND PFIZER CORONAVIRUS VACCINES COMPARE?

Raul Thomas, who heads enterprise operations at WHO, emailed staff on Friday noting that 5 folks — 4 on the identical staff and one who had contact with them— had examined optimistic for COVID-19. While the e-mail didn’t use the time period “cluster,” one is mostly outlined as two or extra circumstances in the identical space, and the 5 circumstances point out fundamental an infection management and social distancing procedures had been possible being damaged.

A earlier e-mail he despatched on Oct. 16 indicated that no clusters had been discovered on the website.

“As per standard protocols, these colleagues are receiving the necessary medical attention and are recovering at home,” the e-mail Friday stated. “These last five cases bring the total reported number of affected members of the Geneva-based workforce to 65 since the beginning of the pandemic.”

The e-mail didn’t specify who was contaminated, however a WHO staffer with direct information of the scenario who spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of she was not approved to talk to the press stated the cluster included a member of the WHO director-general’s management staff who can also be an an infection management specialist.

PFIZER’S CORONAVIRUS VACCINE SHOWS PROMISE: WHAT DOES A TWO-DOSE SHOT ENTAIL?

Thomas’ e-mail was despatched after different WHO officers raised considerations that individuals who had been in contact with the cluster had been nonetheless working in the Geneva constructing and probably exposing others to COVID-19, the staffer stated.

The senior supervisor reportedly held a number of in-person conferences at WHO in early November earlier than testing optimistic final week. The individual, contacted by the AP, referred all feedback to the WHO media workplace.

WHO has confronted repeated criticism of its dealing with of the pandemic. U.S. President Donald Trump accused the U.N. company of “colluding” with China to cover the extent of the preliminary outbreak. In June, the AP found WHO publicly lauded China for its velocity and transparency, though personal conferences confirmed WHO officers pissed off that the nation sat on releasing crucial outbreak data.

According to Thomas’ e-mail, 49 of the general circumstances had occurred in the final eight weeks, “thus very much in line with the situation being reported in Geneva and the surrounding areas.” He added that “a higher number of cases among those who telework might have gone unreported.”

Enhanced measures to “reduce our risk profile” had been being thought-about, the e-mail stated.

“Finally, members of the workforce are reminded that physical meetings, including gatherings in common areas or in the cafeteria, are strongly discouraged and should only take place where absolutely necessary,” it added.

WHEN WILL THE MODERNA AND PFIZER VACCINES BE AVAILABLE? 

Elsewhere in Geneva, eating places are amongst many public venues which were closed to stop the unfold of COVID-19.

Last month, Thomas informed WHO staffers the company was limiting entry to its Geneva headquarters to crucial staffers, together with senior administrators, their assistants and administration officers. “All members for the workforce are reminded to always keep proper hand hygiene, respect physical distancing standards (at least one meter) and wear masks, when distancing is not possible,” he wrote.

In regular instances, an estimated 2,400 folks recurrently work at WHO’s seven-story headquarters overlooking Geneva. As the pandemic has swelled in the world, staffers have been inspired to earn a living from home when attainable. Non-staff guests have been required to put on masks, and entry to the constructing has been curtailed.

And forward of WHO’s weeklong assembly of its member states final week — which was largely digital — staffers had been informed in an inside e-mail to take further precautions, together with mask-wearing in public locations.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

On Monday, from an enormous assembly room on the headquarters, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and different officers had been taking part in a session of the company’s newest government board assembly, which was largely performed by video convention. He was coming back from a two-week self-quarantine at residence after coming into contact with an individual who examined optimistic. Because Tedros didn’t present any signs himself, he was not examined for COVID-19 however stayed at residence out of an abundance of warning.

On Nov. 2, WHO’s technical lead for the COVID-19 response, Maria Van Kerkhove, informed reporters there had been no transmission or clusters at headquarters, earlier than including: “But it is something that we’re monitoring every day.”

The WHO press workplace didn’t reply to 2 emails from the AP — on Nov. 2 and Nov. 10 — asking what number of staffers based mostly at WHO headquarters had examined optimistic for COVID-19.