The final members of a WHO team of international experts assisting with combating the COVID-19 outbreak are expected to arrive in China over the weekend, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, announced on 14 February.

Tedros, who is visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo, attended the WHO press conference in Geneva on 14 February online. The WHO-led Joint Mission with China on COVID-19 is moving forward, and the full team is expected to touch down over the weekend, he said.An advance team, led by Dr. Bruce Aylward, a Canadian epidemiologist and emergencies expert, arrived in China on 10 February.

According to the WHO Director-General, the mission consists of 12 WHO and international experts and a similar number of their Chinese counterparts. It will focus on understanding the transmission of the virus, the severity of the disease and the impact of ongoing response measures. “The goal of the joint mission is to rapidly inform the next steps in the COVID-19 response and preparedness activities in China and globally,” he said. “Furthermore, it will be important to review which type of information is needed so that the world can use this window of opportunity to prepare health systems and workers for possible outbreaks,” he added.

Dr Mike Ryan (middle), executive director of WHO health emergencies programme, addressed the press conference in Geneva, Switzerland on 14 February.

According to Tedros, the mission will include “field visits in three provinces to understand the application and impact of response activities at provincial and county levels.”

“I am glad to say that countries around the world are in a better state of preparedness for COVID-19 than they were just a week ago, and WHO’s efforts to help countries boost their lab capacity continue,” he said.