By August 6 more than 18.5 million cases of Covid-19 had been reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and 700 000 deaths recorded.

In his media briefing on Thursday, WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Americas remain the epicentre of the virus.

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“Our best way forward is to stick with science, solutions and solidarity and together we can overcome this pandemic,” said Dr Tedros.

He added that the virus also exposed how misinformation poses one of the greatest security threats.

“Misinformation can spread faster than the virus itself. Since the beginning of this pandemic, WHO has been working to address misinformation. We’ve worked with all major tech companies to counter myths and rumour with reliable, evidence-based advice.”

Last month, WHO brought experts together from across the world to hold the first conference on how best to tackle the infodemic.

"#COVID19 has already taken away so much.

We must seize this moment to come together in national unity and global solidarity to control COVID-19, address antimicrobial resistance and the climate crisis"-@DrTedros

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) August 6, 2020

“We have on a weekly basis, briefed our member states to present the latest scientific knowledge, answer their questions, and to share and learn from their experiences with the virus.

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“While health has often been viewed as a cost, the first coronavirus pandemic in history has shown how critical health investment is to national security. Universal health coverage is essential to our collective global health security,” said Dr Tedros.

He added that the organisation’s highest priority is to support all countries to strengthen their health systems.

Watch:

.@DrMikeRyan, Dr @mvankerkhove and I were honoured to partner with the @AspenSecurity Forum for our regular press conference today, and we thank @LesterHoltNBC for hosting. It was a fruitful discussion about global health security and #COVID19, you can watch it here: https://t.co/8ZrrB2weXQ

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) August 6, 2020

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