GENEVA, April 18. /TASS/. The Solidarity Response Fund, created upon the World Health Organization (WHO)’s initiative in March to finance anti-coronavirus measures, has received $150 million in donations from 245,000 individuals and organizations worldwide, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva on Friday.
"So far, the Solidarity Response Fund has generated more than US$150 million from more than 245,000 individuals, corporations and foundations," he said. "These funds are helping us to buy personal protective equipment, laboratory diagnostics and other essential supplies for the countries that need it most."
The WHO chief also expressed his solidarity with "frontline" healthcare workers.
He also noted "encouraging signs" in some countries, and "worrying trends" in others.
According to Ghebreyesus, the past week saw a 51% increase in the number of reported cases in Africa, and a 60% increase in the number of reported deaths there. However, "with the current challenge of obtaining testing kits, it’s likely that the real numbers are higher than reported," he added.
Speaking about WHO’s position on "wet markets," where live animals are being sold, the WHO director general said that they must be allowed to reopen "only be on the condition that they conform to stringent food safety and hygiene standards."
WHO has worked closely with the World Organization for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, to develop guidance on the safe operation of those markets, he said, adding that "an estimated 70% of all new viruses come from animals."
Coronavirus pandemic
In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.
On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 2,190,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 147,000 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 553,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.