The party of South Korean President Moon Jae-in has won a decisive victory in parliamentary elections, with voters backing the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic.
South Korea was among the first countries to hold a national vote since the pandemic began.
Strict safety and social distancing measures were in place for the vote.
With nearly all votes counted, Mr Moon's Democratic Party won 163 seats in the 300-seat National Assembly.
The party's sister group, the Platform Party, was forecast to win a further 17 seats, giving the government a total of 180 seats.
Among the winning candidates for United Future was high-profile North Korean defector Thae Yong-ho. Mr Thae, a former senior diplomat at North Korea's embassy in London, won a seat for the Gangnam district in Seoul.
Although 35 parties put forward candidates, the race was between the left-leaning Democratic Party and the conservative opposition, United Future Party. United Future and its parliamentary partners are expected to win 103 seats.
It is the first time in 16 years that left-leaning parties have secured a majority.
The prospects for President Moon's party did not look good in January. The South Korean economy has slowed, talks with North Korea have stalled and news headlines were dominated by a series of political scandals.
But the country has managed to combat coronavirus with aggressive tracing and testing measures. It brought the number of daily infections down from a peak of 900 a day in late February to fewer than 30.
The Democratic Party put this effective response at the heart of its campaign.
It has resulted in President Moon's government winning the largest majority in parliament this country has seen since it held its first democratic elections in 1987.
How were people able to vote?
In order to cast their ballots, voters had to clean their hands with sanitiser, wear face masks and plastic gloves, stand at least one metre (3ft) apart, and have their temperatures taken.
Anyone with a temperature above 37.5C had to cast their vote in separate booths that were then disinfected after each use.
One voter, a young woman, told BBC Seoul correspondent Laura Bicker: "I thought maybe the election should be postponed because people wouldn’t turn up. But now that I’m here and see so many others, I’m not worried."
There are currently about 60,000 people in quarantine due to the coronavirus in South Korea.
Despite this, the overall turnout was more than 66%, the highest in 18 years, aided by the fact it was first time that 18 year olds were allowed to vote.
About 26% of the population cast their votes in advance, either by post or in early polling stations set up in quarantine stations on Friday and Saturday.
People who had tested positive for coronavirus were under strict instructions to only vote at certain times and at specially designated polling stations. They were also forbidden from using public transport and were only allowed to walk or take their own car.
"Everyone recognised the seriousness of the situation and showed mature citizenship by encouraging electoral officials rather than complaining," the mayor of Seoul's Yongsan district, Sung Jang-hyun, told the BBC.
South Korea briefly had the world’s second-largest outbreak of coronavirus but it was largely brought under control through a policy of widespread testing, thorough contact-tracing, and widely observed social distancing.
South Korea has never postponed an election including the presidential election of 1952, which went ahead despite the country being in the middle of the Korean War.
The party of South Korean President Moon Jae-in has won a decisive victory in parliamentary elections.
South Korea was among the first countries with a major coronavirus outbreak to hold a national vote since the pandemic began.
Safety and social distancing measures were put in place so that the election could take place as scheduled.
With nearly all votes counted, Mr Moon's Democratic Party won 163 seats in the 300-seat National Assembly.
The party's sister group, the Platform Party, was forecast to win a further 17 seats, giving the government a total of 180 seats.
Although 35 parties put forward candidates, the race was between the left-leaning Democratic Party and the conservative opposition, United Future Party.
United Future and its parliamentary partners are expected to win 103 seats.
Among the winning candidates for United Future was high-profile North Korean defector Thae Yong-ho. Mr Thae, a former senior diplomat at North Korea's embassy in London, won a seat for the Gangnam district in Seoul.
Mr Moon's election victory is seen as a show of approval for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak, which has been widely praised.
It will give his government the largest majority in parliament South Korea has seen since it held its first democratic elections in 1987.
It is also the first time in 16 years that left-leaning parties have secured a majority.
How were people able to vote?
In order to cast their ballots, voters had to clean their hands with sanitiser, wear face masks and plastic gloves, stand at least one metre (3ft) apart, and have their temperatures taken.
Anyone with a temperature above 37.5C had to cast their vote in separate booths that were then disinfected after each use.
One voter, a young woman, told BBC Seoul correspondent Laura Bicker: "I thought maybe the election should be postponed because people wouldn’t turn up. But now that I’m here and see so many others, I’m not worried."
There are currently about 60,000 people in quarantine due to the coronavirus in South Korea.
Despite this, the overall turnout was more than 66%, the highest in 18 years, aided by the fact it was first time that 18 year olds were allowed to vote.
About 26% of the population cast their votes in advance, either by post or in early polling stations set up in quarantine stations on Friday and Saturday.
People who had tested positive for coronavirus were under strict instructions to only vote at certain times and at specially designated polling stations. They were also forbidden from using public transport and were only allowed to walk or take their own car.
"Everyone recognised the seriousness of the situation and showed mature citizenship by encouraging electoral officials rather than complaining," the mayor of Seoul's Yongsan district, Sung Jang-hyun, told the BBC.
South Korea briefly had the world’s second-largest outbreak of coronavirus but it was largely brought under control through a policy of widespread testing, thorough contact-tracing, and widely observed social distancing.
South Korea has never postponed an election including the presidential election of 1952, which went ahead despite the country being in the middle of the Korean War.
BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday set in motion a plan for Germany to begin lifting social and economic restrictions in place because of the coronavirus, even as she warned that the road ahead would look less like a return to normal than a way to live with a pandemic that has overturned ordinary life.
The chancellor, a physicist by training, was typically restrained and focused on the science as she announced the government’s cautious step-by-step plan, for which she had won the agreement of regional leaders in Germany’s diffuse federal system.
Shorn of any bravado, her announcement seemed again to make Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, a de facto leader on the Continent and something of an example for Western nations looking to navigate the tricky course of rebooting economic activity and fighting the virus.
Her approach stood in stark contrast to the fraught political divisions in the United States, where state authorities have often been at odds with President Trump, who has made forceful but erratic predictions about the virus.
“We have achieved something,” Ms. Merkel said at a news conference, “something that by no means was a given at the start — namely that our doctors and carers, all those in the medical field, in the hospitals, were not overwhelmed.”
But she added: “What we’ve achieved is an interim success — no more, no less. And I stress that it is a fragile interim success.”
An economic lockdown will remain largely in place for an additional 20 days, Ms. Merkel cautioned, and strict social distancing rules will remain in force.
But some shops will be allowed to reopen beginning next week — although only those with the necessary protections in place to allow strict social distancing to continue, she said.
Older students might be allowed back to school in May but that will be contingent on a radically changed setup involving small groups, face masks and social distancing rules for school buses.
Every two weeks the government will take stock of infection numbers, Ms. Merkel said, to evaluate in real time the impact of each incremental measure that is lifted — and to avoid the danger of infections picking up pace again.
“We can’t have a wrongheaded push forward, even when the best intentions are behind it,” Ms. Merkel said. “We need to understand that we need to live with this virus as long as there is no vaccine and no treatment.”
Germany was hit hard by the pandemic but reacted quickly and decisively in trying to slow the spread of the virus.
A month ago, when the number of deaths stood at 90, Ms. Merkel’s government imposed strict social distancing rules that banned groups of more than two people of different households from gathering, and that shut down much of the economy.
By Wednesday, the number of infections in Germany stood at 136,616, the third-highest toll in Europe, after Spain and Italy. But the number of new daily infections has tapered off and the number of deaths, now at 3,428, has remained low compared with other countries.
Germany’s strategy of early and widespread testing and its large number of intensive care beds help explain the country’s relatively low mortality rate, but the trust in Ms. Merkel’s leadership and the resulting compliance with government measures has contributed too, virologists say.
As in previous stages of the pandemic, Ms. Merkel consulted widely before she made her announcement Wednesday. She had studied the recommendations from a panel of 26 top academics from a range of fields including behavioral psychology and ethics, and then hammered out an agreement with the governors of Germany’s 16 states.
Highlighting this broad consensus, the chancellor was flanked at her hourlong news conference not just by her finance minister, but also by the governor of Bavaria and the mayor of Hamburg.
“Germany has a collective philosophy, and the debates of recent days have ended up in a good result,” said Markus Söder, the Bavarian governor, who has not been shy to criticize Ms. Merkel in the past. “All states are completely united with the federal government on the strategy and the strategy is caution.”
In a week where several smaller countries in Europe have begun loosening restrictions, many had been eagerly waiting for Germany to come forward with a plan to emerge from the economic lockdown.
Ms. Merkel’s announcement came as the German government issued a bleak assessment of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the economy, saying the country was headed for a steep recession and a surge in joblessness.
Among the first shops allowed to reopen are bookstores, bike stores and car dealers. But they all have to ensure that the number of customers inside is limited while also avoiding long lines from forming outside.
All schools will stay closed for another three weeks and primary schools and nurseries for longer, the chancellor said. Effective immediately, the German government is also “urgently” recommending the use of face masks in enclosed public spaces like shops and public transport, but stopped short of making masks mandatory as they are in neighboring Austria.
Restaurants and bars will have to wait longer, and large events like soccer matches remain banned until Aug. 31. Religious services won’t resume until places of worship have put in place measures to ensure the required distance between worshipers.
During Wednesday’s news conference, the chancellor thanked citizens for obeying strict social distancing rules and living with so many restrictions, stressing that Germany’s relative success in combating the virus was because of their cooperation.
“The curve has become flatter,” Ms Merkel said, referring to the number of new daily infections.
But she cautioned against a false sense of security, saying the achievements could quickly be reversed.
“We don’t have much leeway,” she said.
“If we now allow more public life, in small steps, then it is very important that we can trace infections chains even better,” she said. “That must be our aim: to trace every infection chain.”
To that end, she said, Germany’s testing capacities would be increased. The country is currently capable of testing 100,000 people a day, more than any other country in Europe.
Earlier Wednesday, the European Commission presented a road map for countries in the 27-country bloc planning their own exit strategies. Chief among its recommendations is a German-style testing regime that allows for the tracing and quarantining of those who are sick while also slowly allowing those who are not to go back to some activities.
The chancellor went into detailed explanations of the science behind her own plan.
A key variable the government was looking at, she said, is the so-called reproduction factor of the virus — the number of people an infected person passes the virus on to.
That factor currently stands at about 1, she said, meaning that one person gets infected by every newly infected person. If that factor rose even to 1.1, the German health care system would reach capacity by October, she said.
If it were allowed to rise to 1.2 — so out of five infected people one infects not one but two additional people — that limit is reached by July.
“With 1.3,” Ms. Merkel continued, “we have reached the limit of our health care system by June.”
“So you can see how small our leeway is,” she said, “the entire development rests on having a number of infections that we can keep track of and trace.”
SEOUL, South Korea — President Moon Jae-in’s governing party in South Korea won a landslide in parliamentary elections on Wednesday, as he leveraged his surging popularity over his country’s largely successful battle against the coronavirus to increase his political sway.
With more than 99 percent of the votes counted, Mr. Moon’s left-leaning Democratic Party had won 163 seats in the 300-member National Assembly, according to the National Election Commission on Thursday morning. A satellite party the Democrats created for Wednesday’s elections won 17 seats. Together, the two groups took three-fifths of all seats, giving Mr. Moon the largest majority of seats in three decades.
The main conservative opposition United Future Party and its own satellite Future Korea Party suffered a crushing defeat, winning 103 seats between them. The remaining seats were taken by independents and candidates from smaller parties.
Pandemic or not, South Koreans proved eager to vote in the election, widely seen as a midterm referendum on Mr. Moon, elected to a five-year term in 2017. The voter turnout was 66.2 percent, the highest for a parliamentary election in 28 years.
Wednesday’s election marked the first time in 16 years that left-leaning parties have secured a parliamentary majority, as South Koreans expressed their support for Mr. Moon’s government, which has won plaudits for bringing the epidemic under control.
In South Korea, elections typically have been decided by regional loyalties, ideological differences over North Korea or issues like the economy and corruption.
But this time, “how the government has responded to the coronavirus was the most decisive factor in the president’s approval ratings and in the parliamentary election,” said Park Si-young, head of WinG Korea, a Seoul-based political survey company.
The prospects for Mr. Moon’s party did not look good until less than two months ago. He and his party’s approval ratings had been slumping over a decaying job market, stalled diplomatic efforts with North Korea and scandals involving Mr. Moon’s closest allies. The coronavirus had initially appeared to work against Mr. Moon and his party, as they were criticized for underestimating the threat.
But their political fortune shifted once Mr. Moon’s government began testing large numbers of people in February to screen out patients for isolation and treatment. South Korea, once home to the world’s second-largest outbreak, with as many as 813 new cases a day, has reported fewer than 40 new patients a day in the past week.
As President Trump and other foreign leaders called Mr. Moon, asking South Korea for supplies of test kits or advice in handling the outbreak, his popularity rebounded at just the right time.
During the campaign, Mr. Moon’s conservative rivals accused him of coddling the nuclear-armed North Korea and undermining the alliance with Washington by taking Seoul too close to Beijing, criticisms which Mr. Moon strongly rejected.
With their victories on Wednesday, South Korea’s liberals achieved more political clout than they have ever held.
Their ascent began when former President Park Geun-hye, a conservative, was impeached and then ousted on corruption charges in 2017. Mr. Moon won the presidency in an election that same year, becoming the first left-leaning president in nearly a decade. In 2018, his party won all but three of the 17 contests for big-city mayors and provincial governors.
“By taking over the Parliament as well, the progressives complete replacing the conservatives as the mainstream political force in South Korea,” said Park Sung-min, head of Min Consulting, a political polling company in Seoul.
Anti-North Korea conservatives had dominated politics, the news media and other elite groups in South Korea during the decades following the 1950-53 Korean War. It was not until 1998 that South Korea elected its first left-leaning president, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kim Dae-jung. Mr. Kim was succeeded by another liberal, Roh Moo-hyun, president from 2003 to 2008.
But neither Mr. Kim nor Mr. Roh could obtain the type of parliamentary majority that Mr. Moon just earned.
Older South Koreans have tended to vote conservative, criticizing anything less than unequivocal support for the alliance with Washington as “pro-North Korean.”
But postwar generations of South Koreans have more readily seen a need for diplomacy with North Korea and have voiced skepticism over the power of chaebol — family-controlled business conglomerates like Samsung — that have dominated the economy with the help of close, and often corrupt, political ties.
Surprise winners included Thae Yong-ho, the first defector from North Korea to win an election in the South. Mr. Thae, a former North Korean diplomat in London who defected in 2016, won the contest in a Seoul district as a candidate for the conservative United Future.
The polling in South Korea was one of the first national elections taking place amid the coronavirus pandemic, and the country took significant safety precautions to try to ensure that infections did not spread.
All voters were required to wear masks and line up at three-foot intervals. Officials screened out those with high temperatures so that they could vote separately. Voters were also required to rub their hands with sanitizer and put on disposable plastic gloves handed out by officials before entering voting booths.
More than 13,000 South Koreans who were in a mandatory two-week quarantine but still wanted to cast ballots were escorted by officials to vote after the polling stations closed to the general public at 6 p.m. Hospitalized patients of the virus were given the choice to vote by mail. Hundreds of patients with mild symptoms were allowed to vote in advance.
The outbreak also changed the campaign scenes: Candidates replaced handshakes with elbow and fist bumps. Instead of loud singing and dancing, their volunteer helpers handed out name cards and fliers.
The election in South Korea “tells other world leaders that how they respond to their own crisis could make or break their political fortunes,” said Duyeon Kim, a senior adviser on Northeast Asia and nuclear policy at the International Crisis Group. “Because the pandemic is at the top of everyone’s mind.”
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Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., accused President Trump Tuesday night of shifting blame for the extent of the coronavirus pandemic onto China and the World Health Organization instead of accepting responsibility.
"The reason that we're in the crisis that we are today is not because of anything that China did, is not because of anything the WHO did. It's because of what this president did," Murphy told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360". "It's because he didn't take this virus seriously. We weren't going to be able to keep every case out of the United States, but we didn't have to have tens of thousands of people dying."
Murphy spoke hours after Trump announced the administration would halt funding to the WHO while it investigates the global health agency's reponse to the pandemic.
The president claimed the outbreak could have been contained at its source and that lives could have been saved had the WHO done a better job investigating the early reports coming out of China.
“The WHO failed in its basic duty and must be held accountable,” Trump said.
Murphy said on Tuesday that "the president is engaging in sort of middle school-grade deflection, trying to blame the WHO for something that he was responsible for." The senator also defended the WHO, saying they invested in testing in the "early days of this virus."
"Had we been working with the WHO early on," Murphy said, "we might be in a very different position here."
A woman wearing a protective face mask, who said she did not mind being photographed, walks past a temporarily closed Karstadt department store during the coronavirus crisis on April 15, 2020 in Berlin, Germany.
Sean Gallup
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday laid out Germany's plan to gradually resume public life while maintaining social distancing, a month after Europe's largest economy effectively shut down in an effort to slow the coronavirus outbreak.
Some small businesses will reopen on April 20 while schools will begin to gradually reopen on May 4. Most businesses have been closed in Germany since a March 16 government order limited economic life to grocery stories, pharmacies, banks, gas stations and other essential services while people were urged to remain at home.
The German government extended social distancing measures until May 3, which require people to maintain a distance of 1.5 meters (5 feet) and limit public gatherings to just two people with the exception of family members. Large gatherings will remain banned at least until Aug. 31, and religious gatherings remain prohibited until further notice. Germans are also being encouraged to wear masks in public and avoid travel.
Merkel said the country's strict social distancing measures had prevented the country's health-care system from becoming overwhelmed, but warned this was a "fragile, partial success."
"We don't have a lot of leeway, we have to remain focused and continue," Merkel said at a news conference Wednesday. "Our consultations therefore decided that we cannot get ahead of ourselves. We have to understand that we must live the virus so long as there's no medicine or vaccine."
Businesses that don't exceed 800 square meters are allowed to reopen, as well as car dealerships, bike shops and bookstores regardless of their size. Hair salons can reopen on May 4 but workers must wear personal protective equipment. All shops that reopen must adhere to regulations on hygiene and must prevent lines from forming.
Restaurants will remain closed for dine-in service, but can offer delivery and takeout. Bars, clubs, theaters and concert venues will remain closed. Companies are encouraged to have employees continue working from home whenever possible.
The German government, in a document outlining its plan, said the goal is to take small steps to restart public life, give people more freedom of movement and restore value-added chains, while at the same time maintaining protective measures to prevent new chains of infection.
"We all have to remain conscious that the epidemic has not been overcome by slowing the chain of infection -- it continues," the government said in its outline. "Therefore, we cannot return to the life we were accustomed to before the epidemic. Instead, we must learn how we can live with the epidemic for a long time to come."
More than 133,000 people have tested positive for the virus in Germany, according to Johns Hopkins University, behind only the U.S., Spain and Italy in terms of total reported infections nationwide. Germany, however, has managed to keep the death toll from the virus lower than other hard-hit countries. At least 3,592 people have died of the virus in Germany.
Merkel went into self-quarantine in March at her home after having contact with a doctor who tested positive for the virus. She ultimately tested negative for the virus and returned to work in her office earlier this month.
President Trump at the daily coronavirus briefing on Tuesday, when he declared his intent to halt funding to the World Health Organization, and Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO.
Alex Brandon/AP/ Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images
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Alex Brandon/AP/ Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images
On Tuesday, President Trump said he's suspending U.S. funding for the World Health Organization. He said the agency has "mismanaged" the pandemic, has been slow to respond to the crisis and is "China-centric."
We looked at the public record to see what Trump and WHO had to say over the past 15 weeks about the coronavirus pandemic. Here's a timeline highlighting key quotes.
Jan. 5
WHO reported a "pneumonia of unknown cause" in Wuhan, China.
The health organization advised against restrictions to China: "WHO advises against the application of any travel or trade restrictions on China based on the current information available on this event."
Jan. 9
WHO released a statement announcing the source of the disease: "Chinese authorities have made a preliminary determination of a novel (or new) coronavirus, identified in a hospitalized person with pneumonia in Wuhan."
It added: "In the coming weeks, more comprehensive information is required to understand the current status and epidemiology of the outbreak, and the clinical picture."
A security guard stands outside the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market where the novel coronavirus was detected in Wuhan.
Hector Retamal /AFP via Getty Images
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Hector Retamal /AFP via Getty Images
Jan. 22
Asked by CNBC whether there were any concerns about the virus spreading to the U.S., Trump responded: "We have it totally under control. It's one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It's — going to be just fine."
Jan. 23
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement that it is too early to declare the coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. "Make no mistake. This is an emergency in China, but it has not yet become a global health emergency. It may yet become one."
The Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, China, January 22.
Stringer/Getty Images
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Stringer/Getty Images
Jan. 24
In a tweet, Trump praised China for its efforts to prevent the spread of the virus. "China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!"
Jan. 29
Mike Ryan, head of the WHO health emergencies program, said "the whole world needs to be on alert now. The whole world needs to take action and be ready for any cases that come from the epicenter or other epicenter that becomes established."
Jan. 30
At a campaign rally in Iowa, Trump talked about the U.S. partnership with China to control the disease. "We only have five people, hopefully, everything's going to be great. They have somewhat of a problem, but hopefully, it's all going to be great. But we're working with China, just so you know, and other countries very, very closely. So it doesn't get out of hand."
Tedros announced that the outbreak has become a "public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of novel coronavirus."
Feb. 2
In an interview with Sean Hannity, Trump said, "We pretty much shut it down coming in from China." His executive order banning anyone who has been in China in the previous 14 days – excluding U.S. residents and family members or spouses of U.S. residents or citizens – goes into effect.
Feb. 4
In a WHO briefing, Tedros urged that there be no travel bans. "We reiterate our call to all countries not to impose restrictions that unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade. Such restrictions can have the effect of increasing fear and stigma, with little public health benefit ... Where such measures have been implemented, we urge that they are short in duration, proportionate to the public health risks and are reconsidered regularly as the situation evolves."
Feb. 10
At a campaign rally in Manchester, N.H., Trump said: "Looks like by April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away. I hope that's true. But we're doing great in our country. China, I spoke with President Xi, and they're working very, very hard. And I think it's going to all work out fine."
Feb. 11
At a WHO briefing Tedros urged world leaders to give priority to containing the virus: "To be honest, a virus is more powerful in creating political, economic and social upheaval than any terrorist attack. A virus can have more powerful consequences than any terrorist action and that's true. If the world doesn't want to wake up and consider this enemy virus as Public Enemy number 1, I don't think we will learn our lessons."
Feb. 13
In an interview with Geraldo Rivera, Trump characterized the threat of the virus in the U.S. by saying: "In our country, we only have, basically, 12 cases and most of those people are recovering and some cases fully recovered. So it's actually less."
Feb. 24
In a tweet, Trump wrote, "The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!"
Feb. 26
In a press conference, Trump said: "When you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that's a pretty good job we've done."
Feb. 28
WHO raises the global risk to coronavirus from "high" to "very high."
March 5
In a WHO briefing Tedros praised China and the U.S. for taking "the right approach." He said: "After our visit to Beijing and seeing China's approach, and President Xi leading that, and also in the U.S., President Trump himself, and also for regular coordination, designating the vice president. These are the approaches we're saying are the right ones, and these are the approaches we're saying are going to mobilize the whole government."
In a Fox News town hall, Trump said,"It's going to all work out. Everybody has to be calm. It's all going to work out."
Customers line up to buy water and other supplies in Burbank, Calif., on March 6, reacting to fears that the novel coronavirus would spread and force people to stay indoors.
Robyn Beck /AFP via Getty Images
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Robyn Beck /AFP via Getty Images
March 10
In a meeting with Republican senators at the U.S. Capitol, Trump said, "This was unexpected ... And it hit the world. And we're prepared, and we're doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away."
March 11
Trump said in an Oval Office address: "The vast majority of Americans, the risk is very, very low."
Tedros said WHO has "made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic."
A digital sign directs patients to the drive-through coronavirus test site at Stony Brook University. The photo was taken on March 28.
John Paraskevas/Newsday via Getty Images
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John Paraskevas/Newsday via Getty Images
March 16
"You cannot fight a fire blindfolded. And we cannot stop this pandemic if we don't know who is infected," Tedros said at a briefing in Geneva. He added, "We have a simple message for all countries: test, test, test. Test every suspected case."
Trump issues orders to control the spread of the virus in the U.S. in a press briefing: "My administration is recommending that all Americans, including the young and healthy, work to engage in schooling from home when possible. Avoid gathering in groups of more than 10 people. Avoid discretionary travel. And avoid eating and drinking at bars, restaurants and public food courts. If everyone makes this change or these critical changes and sacrifices now, we will rally together as one nation and we will defeat the virus. And we're going to have a big celebration all together. With several weeks of focused action, we can turn the corner and turn it quickly."
March 17
Trump told reporters: "This is a pandemic ... I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic."
Pat Herrick holds a photo of her mom, Elaine Herrick, 89, a resident of Life Care Center, who died of complications from COVID-19. The nursing home in Kirkland, Washington, was the location of one of the first coronavirus outbreaks in the U.S.
Jason Redmond /AFP via Getty Images
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Jason Redmond /AFP via Getty Images
March 21
Trump tweeted about potential coronavirus treatments: "HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE & AZITHROMYCIN, taken together, have a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine. The FDA has moved mountains - Thank You! Hopefully they will BOTH (H works better with A, International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents)....."
March 23
In a WHO briefing, Tedros said "using untested medicines without the right evidence could raise false hope and even do more harm than good."
He also said that the "pandemic is accelerating ... It took 67 days from the first reported case to reach the first 100,000 cases, 11 days for the second 100,000 cases and just four days for the third 100,000 cases."
March 24
Trump said: "Easter is a very special day for me. And I see it sort of in that timeline that I'm thinking about. And I say, wouldn't it be great to have all of the churches full?"
March 26
"We are at war with a virus that threatens to tear us apart," said Tedros to world leaders in a special virtual summit on the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 6
Mike Ryan, head of the WHO health emergencies program, said you can't lift a lockdown all at once. "You need to say, 'We will stop doing this element of the shutdown, and then we will wait, and we will look at the data. And if that works, we go to the next stage and the next stage.' So a careful calibrated step-wise exit from lockdown."
April 7
Trump criticized WHO for mishandling the pandemic. "The WHO really blew it. For some reason, funded largely by the United States, yet very China- centric. We will be giving that a good look. Fortunately I rejected their advice on keeping our borders open to China early on. Why did they give us such a faulty recommendation?"
April 8
"Please don't politicize this virus," Tedros said in a briefing in Geneva after he was asked about Trump's remarksthe day before. He later urged political leaders to "please quarantine politicizing COVID."
April 14
"Today I am instructing my administration to halt funding of the World Health Organization while a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organization's role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus," Trump said in a briefing at the White House.
April 15
"We regret the decision of the President of the United States to order a halt in funding to the World Health Organization," said Tedros in a news conference.
Responding to the U.S. accusations, Mike Ryan of the WHO said "in the first weeks of January the WHO was very, very clear."
"We alerted the world on January the 5th," Ryan said. "Systems around the world, including the U.S., began to activate their incident management systems on January the 6th. And through the next number of weeks, we've produced multiple updates to countries, including briefing multiple governments, multiple scientists around the world, on the developing situation — and that is what it was, a developing situation."
In an interview with NPR that will air on April 16, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Kelly Craft stated: "[the World Health Organization] was not accurate, had it been accurate it would have slowed the virus and saved thousands of lives."
Jason Beaubien, Pien Huang, Ben de la Cruz, Isabella Gomez Sarmiento and Domenico Montanaro contributed to this report.
