Over 70% of nations have COVID-19 response plan: WHO

GENEVA

More than 70% of countries have a COVID-19 national preparedness and response plan, and 89% have lab testing capacity for the novel coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief said Thursday.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressed international diplomats in Geneva about global preparedness to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

He said that more than 70% of countries have event-based surveillance for COVID-19, and 68% have a "multi-sectoral" partner coordination mechanism.

"Of course, this is not enough, and we expect that all countries should be ready, whether they have cases or not," he said.

He noted that only half of countries