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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”, ForeignÂ
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),
VULNERABLE
The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Titel
- VULNERABLE
- Untertitel
- The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Autoren
- Vanessa MacDonnell
- Jane Philpott
- Sophie Thériault
- Sridhar Venkatapuram
- Verlag
- Ottawa Press
- Datum
- 2020
- Sprache
- englisch
- Lizenz
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 9780776636429
- Abmessungen
- 15.2 x 22.8 cm
- Seiten
- 648
- Kategorien
- Coronavirus
- International