WHO urges countries to test all suspected cases of COVID-19

The World Health Organization (WHO) has described the coronavirus pandemic as the defining global health crisis of our time, and urged countries to test all suspected cases of COVID-19.

“We have a simple message to all countries – test, test, test,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Geneva.

“All countries should be able to test all suspected cases. They cannot fight this pandemic blindfolded,” he added.

The United States and countries across Europe, Asia and the Middle East have closed schools, entertainment venues and all but essential services.

Governments are limiting all travel to curb the movement of people. The Philippines put the entire island of Luzon under lockdown, while Malaysia will effectively close off the country from March 18. South Korea and China, wary of imported infections, have tightened requirements for international arrivals.

Globally, the virus has infected more than 168,000 people and killed at least 6,610, according to the WHO.

Almost 80,000 people have recovered from the infection, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.