Number of coronavirus cases growing exponentially says WHO chief, death rate could reach 50,000 deaths in next few days

About 75 percent of the individuals who are identified as asymptomatic go on to develop symptoms. The head of the World Health Organization voiced deep concern on Wednesday about the rapid escalation and global spread of COVID-19 cases from the new coronavirus, which has now reached 205 countries and territories. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that his agency, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund backed debt relief to help developing countries cope with the pandemic’s social and economic consequences. "Over the past 5 weeks, we have witnessed a near exponential growth in the number of new #COVID19 cases, reaching almost every country, territory and area"-@DrTedros #coronavirus — World Health Organization April 1, 2020 “From data that we have seen from China in particular, we know that individuals who are identified, who are listed as asymptomatic, about 75 percent of those actually go on to develop symptoms,” she said, describing them as having been in a “pre-symptomatic phase”. For those countries, debt relief is essential to enable them to take care of their people and avoid economic collapse"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #coronavirus — World Health Organization April 1, 2020 “Many developing countries will struggle to implement social welfare programmes of this nature,” he said.