Europe is pandemic epicentre, blanket travel bans rarely justified - WHO

Europe has now become the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed 5,000 lives across the world, "a tragic milestone", the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, told a virtual news conference that it was launching a COVID-19 solidarity response plan.

This would to allow people and organisations to help fund masks, gloves, gowns and goggles for heath workers, as well as diagnostic kits and investment in research and development, including for vaccines.