COVID-19 pandemic in the Americas. Response Strategy and Donor Appeal. August 2020

Following the initial outbreak of a novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China, rapid community, regional and international spread has occurred with an exponentially growing number of cases and deaths worldwide. As of 26 August 2020, 23,878,392 cases have been confirmed from 216 countries/areas/territories across the world. On 30 January 2020, the Director-General (DG) of WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) following advice from the Emergency Committee. The outbreak was characterized as a pandemic by the DG on 12 March 2020, with calls for countries to take urgent and aggressive action.