Digital tools offer opportunities to strengthen contact tracing for COVID-19. WHO has published interim guidance on considerations, opportunities and challenges of integrating digital tools into contact tracing methods.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros announced updated guidance on the use of masksfor the control of COVID-19. This guidance is based on evolving evidence, and provides updated advice on who should wear a mask, when it should be worn and of what it should be made.

WHO is supporting the response to a new Ebola outbreak in northwest Democratic Republic of the Congo. The new outbreak comes as the country continues to respond to the complex Ebola outbreak in the eastern part of the country, the COVID-19 pandemic, the world’s largest measles outbreak, and a complex and long-standing humanitarian crisis. 

Basic psychosocial support skills are at the core of any mental health and psychosocialsupport intervention. To assist all those involved in the COVID-19 response, WHO has published guidance on basic psychosocial skills. 

During the 1 June media briefing, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to disruptions in services for treatment of non-communicable diseases in many countries. The COVID-19 response must be inclusive of the healthcare needs of people living with these diseases.

Since the start of the pandemic, there has been an urgent need to accelerate the research and development of COVID-19 candidate vaccines. WHO has been supporting this effort. Currently over 120 candidate vaccines have been mapped and sites in 40 countries have expressed an interest to join the Vaccine Solidarity Trial.