Risk Assessment Report – 17 august 2020
Risk Assessment Report – 17 august 2020
Rapid Risk Assessment
August 17, 2020
Risk Assessment Report – 17 august 2020
Time Period Covered August 17, 2020 - August 17, 2020
- Worldwide, there have been over 21.7 million cases and more than 770,000 deaths. The United States, Brazil, and India continue to represent the largest sources for the global cumulative case count, together comprising approximately 53% of all cumulative cases. This is followed by Russia, Peru, and Mexico, which represent the second highest proportion of cases with a collective 9.4% of the total case count. Latin America and the Caribbean continue to account for nearly one third of all cumulative deaths attributed to COVID-19. The United States CDC recently updated their COVID-19 guidelines concerning quarantine criteria. The CDC reports that in the event that a person who has previously tested positive for COVID-19 comes into close contact with a confirmed case, these individuals do not need to quarantine or get tested again for up to three months as long as they do not develop symptoms again.
- The International Narcotics Control Board, World Health Organization, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime have released a statement calling on governments to ensure that the procurement and supply of controlled medicines in countries meet the needs of patients, both those who have COVID-19 and those who require internationally controlled medicines for other medical conditions (WHO Situation Report 208)
- According to Malaysia’s health authorities on August 16, a mutation of the coronavirus that is far more infectious than the original Wuhan strain has been detected in Malaysia. The D614G mutation was discovered by the Malaysian Institute for Medical Research in four cases from two COVID-19 clusters in the country - the Sivagangga cluster and the Ulu Tiram cluster. According to the Health Chief, the discovery of the mutation means people need to be more careful and continue being disciplined in practicing safety measures such as social distancing, personal hygiene and wearing of masks and this mutation was found to be 10 times more infectious and is easily spread by an individual 'super spreader'.
Risk Assessment Report – 17 august 2020