WHO chief self quarantines after coming in contact with COVID-19 infected person

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday that he had been identified as a contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19, but added that he was feeling well and did not have any symptoms.

"I have been identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for #COVID19. I am well and without symptoms but will self-quarantine over the coming days, in line with @WHO protocols, and work from home," Tedros said in a tweet.

He stressed that it is important to comply with health guidelines amid the pandemic, in order to decrease transmission and take the burden off healthcare systems.

"It is critically important that we all comply with health guidance. This is how we will break chains of #COVID19 transmission, suppress the virus, and protect health systems," he said in another tweet.

This comes as the global coronavirus tally has crossed 46 million and the death toll is nearing 12 lakh, according to data provided by John Hopkins University.

On Friday, a group of WHO experts held a virtual meeting with Chinese counterparts to discuss the coronavirus pandemic, Ghebreyesus had informed.

The United States has accused the WHO of being too close to China in the first phase of the pandemic, when critics say Beijing was slow in sharing crucial information on the virus.

Ghebreyesus also said that the world is now at a critical juncture in the COVID-19 pandemic and some countries are on a dangerous path, facing the prospect of health services collapsing under the strain.

“We are at a critical juncture in the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the Northern hemisphere,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference. “The next few months are going to be very tough and some countries are on a dangerous track.”

Tedros said too many countries were now seeing an exponential increase in infections, “and that is now leading to hospitals and intensive care units running close or above capacity -- and we’re still only in October”.