The head of the World Health Organization announced that he is in quarantine after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 — as the worldwide virus-related death toll surpassed 1.2 million early Monday.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, tweeted about his decision to self-isolate Sunday evening.
“I have been identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for #COVID19,” he wrote. “I am well and without symptoms but will self-quarantine over the coming days, in line with @WHO protocols, and work from home.”
“It is critically important that we all comply with health guidance,” he added. “This is how we will break chains of #COVID19 transmission, suppress the virus, and protect health systems.”
“My @WHO colleagues and I will continue to engage with partners in solidarity to save lives and protect the vulnerable. Together!”
Meanwhile, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University indicates that as of Monday morning, 1,201,642 people had died of COVID-19 across the globe.
The majority of those deaths, just over 231,000, are in the US.
A total of 46,607,519 coronavirus cases have been reported across the world — more than 9 million of those in the US, over 8 million in India and about 5.5 million in Brazil.
