"The number of reported cases of #COVID19 globally has now declined for the fifth consecutive week”, says @drtedros at @WHO presser.
"The number of weekly reported cases has fallen by almost half” in 5 weeks, from more than 5 million to 2.6 million cases."

"What matters now is how we respond to this trend”, says @DrTedros.
"The fire is not out, but we have reduced its size. If we stop fighting it on any front, it will come roaring back."

Good news:
"Today, @WHO gave emergency use listing to two versions of the Oxford-AstraZeneca #COVID19 vaccine, giving the green light for these vaccines to be rolled out globally through COVAX”, says @drtedros.

The two versions are the vaccine produced in South Korea by SKBio and in India by Serum Institute India. "Although both companies are producing the same #COVID19 vaccine, because they are made in different production plants, they required separate reviews and approvals.”

"These are now the second and third vaccines to receive emergency use listing”, says @drtedros. "We now have all the pieces in place for the rapid distribution of vaccines. But we still need to scale up production."

"I'm pleased that the G7 under the United Kingdom's presidency is meeting this Friday to discuss vaccine equity”, says @DrTedros. "And I encourage all groups to sign WHO's declaration” on vaccine equity.

#Ebola outbreaks are also mentioned by @DrTedros:
"The outbreaks in Guinea and DRC are completely unrelated. But we face similar challenges in both” incl. that they are "in hard to reach, insecure areas with some mistrust of outsiders."

" I think it is time that we look to the science now”, says @DrMikeRyan, "and then do our best collectively to work with all interested parties to identify further studies that will be needed to fundamentally and finally understand the animal origins of this virus."

Q about ivermectin as a potential treatment:
“The clinical team is looking at data right now on different studies that have been evaluating ivermectin” for a meta-analysis, says @mvankerkhove
Hope is that they will have some results in "4 to 6 weeks or so".

Predictably, a lot of questions about origins mission.
@Peterfoodsafety clarifies the reported 13 #sarscov2 genomes from Wuhan in December. Says these were mostly patients but also environmental samples from the market and some double samples. So NOT 13 different patient genomes.

Genomes form cases linked to the market were very similar. Other genomes were a bit different and those were not linked to the market, suggesting the virus was circulating in both the market and the city, says @Peterfoodsafety.
(Also what he told me here: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/02/politics-was-always-room-who-mission-chief-reflects-china-trip-seeking-covid-19-s)

Chinese reporter using his question time to mostly comment on what he perceived to be misinformation from US government, NYTimes, etc.

As usual, @HelenBranswell asks the important #Ebola question: What is known about the species and is it clear whether this was a new spillover or maybe an incidence of persistent infection?
It’s Ebola Zaire, but detailed genomes still to come, says @drmichelyao1.

"I believe we have a team en route to Nzérékoré right now to provide support”, says @DrMikeRyan. "We are moving vaccines in country from both Geneva and US stockpiles.” Therapeutics will also be shipped: mAB114 and Regeneron antibody cocktail.

So #Ebola situation in West Africa is different from 2014, says @DrMikeRyan.
BUT: “The disease is very much in the same area as before, it does threaten at least the three countries and therefore we have to be exceptionally vigilant, highly alert.”

Last q was from me: How to think about the decline in cases.
"I think we have to be very very careful”, says @DrMikeRyan. “When things go bad with an epidemic, it's never all our fault and when things go well, it's never all our doing."

“We haven't seen levels as low as this since last October”, says @DrMikeRyan. But why? Is it "the natural seasonality and wave like pattern of the disease”? Immunity building up? Are control measures having an impact? "I think all of the above to an extent are true."

"We're going to need to be exceptionally careful that we don't do the same thing as last autumn where we allowed the disease to reestablish itself, reignite and re-accelerate”, says @DrMikeRyan.

“If we can distribute vaccines equitably and the most vulnerable and highest risk people are protected, then the decisions we make around this disease will understandably change”, says @DrMikeRyan. “The consequence of transmission is different” with few deaths/hospitalizations.

"We need to avoid lurching from lockdown to lockdown, from peak to peak and get into a more stable relationship with this virus unfortunately,” says @DrMikeRyan. “We need to get control of this virus. The virus still very much has control over us."

"We need to take the heat out of the pandemic", says @DrMikeRyan.
“We can do that, if we're really smart about continuing our own personal measures, continuing to reduce our own chances of being infected, if governments support people in being able to do that”, plus vaccines.

“The downward trend in cases and deaths is definitely a hopeful sign”, says @mvankerkhove.
But there also challenges ahead:
"These virus variants and the changes, the natural evolution of the virus pose some uncertainty in terms of what is this virus going to do. "

And fatigue: “The world is tired, all of us up here are tired as well and we want this to be over”, says @mvankerkhove. “We cannot become complacent. Even with downward trends we need to really stay the course, and we need to hold on to what works."