COVID Outbreak Among WHO Geneva Staff Despite Mask Requirements

Remember when the media mocked the COVID outbreak at the White House?

They blamed President Trump.

They accused him for a lack of leadership.

Well…

Now the tables have turned…

New internal emails appear to suggest a COVID-19 outbreak at the World Health Organization.

Will the media criticize WHO the same way they criticized Trump?

Will late night comedians mock WHO the same way they mocked the White House?

For some reason… we doubt it.

As of this writing, it appears that 65 members of WHO have contracted the novel coronavirus.

This is DESPITE mask requirements at WHO.

More details on this shocking turn of events below:

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

65 World Health Organization staffers have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic started https://t.co/WzFUmOlJEe pic.twitter.com/bv54SRL22G

— The Hill (@thehill) November 16, 2020

Of course…

The media has hardly covered this story.

It appears that no one is talking about it on Twitter.

Why?

Because this is narrative warfare.

The media will attack Trump and use COVID to do so…

But it appears that even the World Health Organization can’t keep its own staff members safe.

According to the Associated Press:

The World Health Organization has recorded 65 cases of the coronavirus among staff based at its headquarters, including five people who worked on the premises and were in contact with one another, an internal email obtained by The Associated Press shows.

The U.N. health agency said it is investigating how and where the five people became infected — and that it has not determined whether transmission happened at its offices. WHO’s confirmation Monday of the figures in the email was the first time it has publicly provided such a count.

“To my knowledge, the cluster being investigated is the first evidence of potential transmission on the site of WHO,” Dr. Michael Ryan, the agency’s chief of emergencies, told reporters Monday after the AP reported on the internal email.

The email said about half of the infections recorded so far were in people who had been working from home. But 32 were in staff who had been working on premises at the headquarters building, where more than 2,000 people usually work and the agency says it has put in place strict hygiene, screening and other prevention measures.

In the email, which was sent to staff on Friday, Raul Thomas, who heads business operations at WHO, noted that five people — four on the same team and one who had contact with them— had tested positive for COVID-19. That could indicate that basic infection control and social distancing procedures in place may have been broken.

“We have had some cases that have been associated with the premises. We do have some cases in the last week that are linked together,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19, confirmed Monday.

Of the linked cases, she added: “There are possible ways in which they were infected outside of the premises. So we’re still doing the epidemiologic investigation with that.”

Two weeks ago, Van Kerkhove had said there had been no transmission at headquarters to that point but added that the agency was monitoring it. WHO, which is coordinating the global response to the pandemic, had previously said that staffers had been infected but never provided a number or details.

“As per standard protocols, these colleagues are receiving the necessary medical attention and are recovering at home,” the email Friday said. “These last five cases bring the total reported number of affected members of the Geneva based workforce to 65 since the beginning of the pandemic.”

According to the email, 49 of the overall cases had occurred in the last eight weeks, “thus very much in line with the situation being reported in Geneva and the surrounding areas.” He added that “a higher number of cases among those who telework might have gone unreported.” The timing of the other 16 cases was not clear.

The revelation comes amid a surge of cases in Europe, host country Switzerland, and the city of Geneva, in particular.

The email did not specify who was infected, but a WHO staffer with direct knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the press said the five linked cases included a member of the WHO director-general’s leadership team who is also an infection control specialist.

Thomas’ email was sent after other WHO officials raised concerns that people who had been in contact with the group were still working in the Geneva building and potentially exposing others to COVID-19, the staffer said.

The senior manager reportedly held several in-person meetings at WHO in early November before testing positive last week. The person, contacted by the AP, referred all comments to the WHO media office.

“We have not yet established whether transmission occurred on campus, but are looking into the matter,” Farah Dakhlallah, a WHO spokeswoman, said in an email to the AP.

If the media were honest, they would ask how such an outbreak could happen at WHO.

Aren’t they the “experts” we should all trust?

They also have had mask requirements, yet 65 of their staff appear confirmed to have been infected.

Who has the coronavirus?

No, @WHO has the coronavirus.

"…the health agency’s strict hygiene, screening and other prevention measures were not sufficient to spare it from the pandemic…"

Say it with me: Virus gonna virus.https://t.co/KUFxlob6BE

— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) November 16, 2020

The World Health Organization has recorded 65 cases of the coronavirus among staff based at its headquarters, including at least one cluster of infections, an internal email obtained by The Associated Press shows. https://t.co/Ymg5esgbzs

— The Seattle Times (@seattletimes) November 16, 2020

There have been 65 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the World Health Organization's headquarters in Switzerland, according to an email obtained by The Associated Press https://t.co/pDOCUHHMSt

— CTV News (@CTVNews) November 16, 2020

Joe Biden has announced that IF inaugurated, he will order the US to re-join the World Health Organization.

This is despite widespread criticism of the international organization.

The Hill confirms the outbreak:

A total of 65 World Health Organization (WHO) staffers stationed at the agency’s Geneva headquarters have tested positive for COVID-19 over the course of the pandemic.

The WHO on Monday said the infections occurred in employees working from home and onsite and the agency is looking into whether any transmission of the virus actually occurred on campus.

Of the 65 recorded cases, 32 include those working from home and 49 cases occurred in the last 8 weeks. WHO said that’s “in line with the epidemiological situation in Geneva and surrounding areas.”

“As per standard protocols, they received the necessary medical attention and are recovering at home. WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing carried out full contact tracing and related protocols. Enhanced cleaning protocols have been implemented in relevant offices,” a WHO spokesperson told Changing America.

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The Associated Press reports Raul Thomas, the head of business operations at WHO, emailed staff Friday saying five people, including four on the same team and another who was exposed to them, contracted COVID-19. AP reports the staffers included a member of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ leadership team who is an infection control specialist, citing an anonymous source.

The World Health Organization said it has not confirmed a cluster of infections on WHO premises at this time.

On Monday, Tedros participated in a media briefing after he was under a two-week self-quarantine at home after coming into contact with someone who was infected with COVID-19. He said on Monday he did not need to be tested following exposure because he had completed his quarantine and experienced no symptoms.

The situation for the health agency working to combat the pandemic globally comes as Geneva is experiencing a worsening outbreak that’s caused public venues to close.

The next time the media want to criticize President Trump, perhaps they should take an honest look at the World Health Organization before doing so!

Since the start of the pandemic, a total 65 WHO staff stationed in Geneva – working from home and onsite – have tested positive for #COVID19. We have not yet established whether any transmission has occurred on campus, but are looking into the matter.

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) November 16, 2020