The World Health Organization, the body tasked with coordinating the globe’s coronavirus response, confirmed Monday it has had dozens of staff members test positive for COVID-19.
The WHO said Monday that 65 employees based at its headquarters in Geneva had tested positive for the coronavirus, according to an email obtained by the Associated Press. The primary concern surrounds five employees who were apparently working on the premises in Geneva and were in close contact with each other, per the AP. (RELATED: WHO Official Says Hypothetical Vaccine Will Not Be The End Of The Pandemic)
While about half of the infected employees were working from home, 32 had worked in person at the HQ which remained open with strict hygiene guidelines, as reported by the AP. Dr. Michael Ryan, the organization’s chief of emergencies, told reporters Monday that “the cluster being investigated is the first evidence of potential transmission on the site of WHO,” referring to the five individuals who tested positive after reportedly being in close contact with one another.
The World Health Organization has recorded 65 cases of the coronavirus among staff based at its headquarters, despite the agency’s public assertions that there has been no transmission at the Geneva site, according to an email obtained by @AP. https://t.co/hJUtabJLHT
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 16, 2020
A WHO staffer allegedly told the AP that one of the five people within that cluster is a member of the WHO director-general’s leadership team and is an infection-control specialist. That allegedly infected individual reportedly held several in-person meetings at the HQ in early November before testing positive last week, the AP says, citing their anonymous source. (RELATED: Big Tech Censors Content That Counters The WHO, Despite It Repeatedly Flip-Flopping On Its Guidance)