Page - 518 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

VULNERABLE518 testing positive for antigens, on average about five days after being infected. They may remain asymptomatic or only mildly symptomatic later, when testing positive for antibodies. Thus, they pose a major challenge for detection, tracing, and testing, especially for developing countries, as currently “interna- tionally approved” tests tend to be much more expensive the earlier they can yield positive results, that is, not yield “false negatives.” The vastly disparate costs of various tests effective for detection at differ- ent stages of infection, and the limited means and capacities for test- ing in developing countries imply that the true extent of infection is not only unknown, but may never be known. WHO estimated a monthly global need for tens of millions of medical masks, gloves, and goggles as personal protective equipment (PPE) required for adequate COVID-19 responses. It has urged easing restrictions on the export and distribution of PPE, ventilators or res- pirators, and other medical supplies.7 It has also called on PPE manu- facturers to boost production by 40% and urged governments to offer incentives to accelerate production. Although the first COVID-19 outbreak was in China, it initially seemed to bypass much of the global South, perhaps reflecting the role of passenger air travel in its uneven global spread. Nevertheless, months after China reported the outbreak to the WHO on December 31, 2019, and the first related death on January 11, predictions of cata- strophic consequences, especially for developing countries, continue to grow.8 On March 31, the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General described the COVID-19 crisis as the greatest collective test for the “international community” since the UN’s formation.9 He urged 7. “Shortage of Personal Protective Equipment Endangering Health Workers Worldwide” (3 March 2020), online: World  Health  Organization <https://www. who.int/news-room/detail/03-03-2020-shortage-of-personal-protective-equip- ment-endangering-health-workers-worldwide>. 8. Anthony Faiola et al, “Public Health Experts: Coronavirus Could Overwhelm the Developing World”, The  Washington  Post (1 April 2020), online: <https://www. washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/coronavirus-developing-world- brazil-egypt-india-kenya-venezuela/2020/03/31/d52fe238-6d4f-11ea-a156- 0048b62cdb51_story.html>; Robert Malley & Richard Malley, “When the Pandemic Hits the Most Vulnerable: Developing Countries Are Hurtling Toward Corona- virus Catastrophe”, Foreign  Affairs (31 March 2020), <https://www.foreignaffairs. com/articles/africa/2020-03-31/when-pandemic-hits-most-vulnerable>. 9. “Transcript of the UN Secretary-General’s Virtual Press Encounter to Launch the Report on the Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19” (31 March 2020),