- The head of the World Health Organization said he would self-isolate after someone he came into contact with tested positive for COVID-19.
- Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was not showing symptoms.
- He gave no other details of who his contact was with, or how long he would isolate for.
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The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) is quarantining after a person he was in contact with tested positive for COVID-19.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted on Sunday: “I have been identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for #COVID19. I am well and without symptoms but will self-quarantine over the coming days, in line with @WHO protocols, and work from home.”
He did not say if he had been tested yet, or how long he would quarantine for.
The WHO says that people who have been exposed to a person who has COVID-19 and can’t get a test should isolate for two weeks. It means they should not go to work, school, or public places, and should stay at least one meter away from other people.
In follow-up tweets, he urged people to follow public health guidelines to try and slow the spread of the virus.
—Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) November 1, 2020
As the head of the WHO, Tedros has helped to lead the global response to the coronavirus pandemic — which has now infected more than 46 million people and killed more than 1.2 million people, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
But the virus is now reaching new peaks across Europe and the US. Tedros said in a briefing in October that “We must not give up” and acknowledged that what he called “pandemic fatigue” had set in globally, making people less likely to follow guidance and restrictions.
