G20 Recognizes Weaknesses In Health Systems Amid Pandemic; WHO DG Urges Nations To Slowly Lift Restrictions As Some Begin To Reopen; U.N. Urges U.S. To Strengthen COVID-19 Strategy

Reuters: G20 health ministers acknowledge health systems’ vulnerability to pandemics: statement
“Health ministers from the Group of 20 major economies discussed weaknesses in health systems that made the world vulnerable to the coronavirus outbreak and other pandemics, a statement said after a virtual meeting on Sunday. The Saudi G20 secretariat said that the ministers shared their national experiences, addressed necessary actions to improve preparedness and discussed systemic weaknesses exposed by the pandemic…” (Nehme et al., 4/19).

U.N. News: COVID-19: ‘Phased process’ for lifting restrictions is key, WHO chief urges G20
“The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) told a virtual meeting of the G20 leading global economies on Sunday that although it was encouraging for some countries to be planning to ease lockdowns against COVID-19, ‘it is critical that these measures are a phased process’…” (4/19).

Washington Post: Nations credited with fast response to coronavirus moving to gradually reopen businesses
“Several countries moved ahead with plans for the gradual reopening of their economies this week, signaling cautious optimism by their governments that measures to combat the novel coronavirus are working. Germany and South Korea — both role models in handling the outbreak in their respective regions — are slowly reversing some of the restrictions put in place weeks ago, embarking on a cautious and long path back to normality that could serve as a template for other nations…” (Noack et al., 4/20).

Bloomberg: U.S. Not Testing Enough for States to Reopen, Experts Say (Court, 4/18).

Devex: Watch: How Rwanda got ahead of the pandemic curve (Kumar, 4/20).

The Telegraph: Fear keeps people indoors, even where coronavirus lockdowns are slowly eased (Sawer et al., 4/18).

U.N. News: U.S. must improve COVID-19 strategy to keep tens of millions from falling into poverty, urges rights expert (4/17).

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