WHO Issues New Guidance on Nations’ COVID-19 Surveillance and Reporting

Aug. 9, 2020 (EIRNS)—The World Health Organization (WHO) on Aug. 7 released a new report, titled, “Public Health Surveillance for COVID-19: Interim Guidance.” The 10-page document supersedes two earlier versions, by giving updated guidance on some of the categories involved in how member states are asked to monitor and report on cases and features of COVID-19. E.g., there are revisions in how to report suspected and probable cases, how to do serological surveillance, and other updates, in order to allow for accurate monitoring and metadata for the long haul. It is not known to EIR whether national data will continue to be provided by the United States, which filed in July for withdrawal of WHO membership.