The World Health Organization has defended its initial response to the coronavirus pandemic on Friday, stating that the agency had given world leaders an appropriate amount of time to intervene in the early outbreak. W.H.O. Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesusu stated during the agency's press conference on Friday that the W.H.O. had declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global health emergency on January 30, "Meaning, the world had enough time to intervene."
"Me and my colleagues believe that," he added. "To declare a global emergency in that situation I think it says it all. It says it all."
As the world moves into its sixth month of coronavirus infection, the W.H.O. has extended its declaration of a global health emergency as the pandemic continues to spread. More than 3.6 million people around the world have tested positive for the virus and over 250,000 have died.
"The COVID-19 crisis has illustrated that even the most sophisticated health systems are struggling to cope with the pandemic," Ghebreyesus stated.
FDA Approved
The Food and Drug Administration approved the emergency use (EUA) of Gilead Sciences' (NASDAQ: GILD) antiviral drug remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19 patients on Friday. The approval was expected followed the early positive data from a National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases clinical trial released on Wednesday.
"This EUA opens the way for us to provide emergency use of remdesivir to more patients with severe symptoms of COVID-19," CEO Daniel O'Day stated in a press release. "We will continue to work with partners across the globe to increase our supply of remdesivir while advancing our ongoing clinical trials to supplement our understanding of the drug's profile. We are working to meet the needs of patients, their families and healthcare workers around the world with the greater sense of urgency and responsibility."
The intravenous drug treatment is currently suggested for a 10-day dosing for coronavirus patients. Gilead has donated the entirety of its existing supple of both finished and unfinished product, totaling to about 1.5 million doses or potentially 140,000 treatment courses. Gilead plans to scale up its production of the drug in response to the pandemic.
Essential Worker Protests
Employees of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Whole Foods, Target (NYSE: TGT), Fedex (NYSE: FDX) and many others staged a nationwide strikes on Friday, which is International Workers' Day, demanding unpaid time off, hazard pay, sick leave, protective gear and cleaner work environments, according to The Associated Press.
For healthcare workers, nurses in 13 states also protested, demanding masks, gloves and other protective equipment that is necessary to care for COVID-19 patients. Many nurses stated that they have been disciplined for speaking out against lack of protective gear.
"Nurses signed up to care for their patient. They did not sign up to sacrifice their lives on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Bonnie Castillo with National Nurses United.
Trade War Re-ignition
President Donald Trump said on Friday that he is considering raising tariffs on China in response to the coronavirus, according to Reuters.
"A lot of things are happening with respect to China," Trump told White House reporters. "We're not happy, obviously with what happened. This is a bad situation--all over the world, 183 countries. But we'll be having a lot to say about that. [New tariffs are] certainly an option. It's certainly an option."
"The last thing the financial market needs now as it grapples with COVID-19 is a renewal of the trade war between the U.S. and China," Derek Halpenny, the head of global market research at MUFU stated in a Bloomberg News report. "Given the scale of the COVID-19 impact that is certainly a high risk of geopolitical tensions escalating considerable as lockdowns reserve, and now this could include the U.S. imposing additional trade tariffs on China."