COVID-19 Informative guide for journalists

Media outlets are key public health players, shaping perceptions of risk and targeting communities to protect health. This document offers tools to help the media play their role in the COVID-19 pandemic response through accurate, ethical and responsible reporting. It also proposes ways to approach coverage and encourages journalists to provide advice and solutions that can help reduce health risks and save lives.  

The priorities of the WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe) during the COVID-19 pandemic are to save lives, protect health workers, flatten the epidemiological curve to slow the spread of disease, and prevent cases from overloading health systems so that lives will not be lost due to lack of access to needed care. WHO/ Europe supports the countries in the region in adopting the measures deemed necessary to tackle the pandemic.

Having clear, timely and accurate information from reliable sources is vital for people in various situations during this pandemic. The information that is given must acknowledge uncertainty and help people protect themselves and prepare for different possible scenarios during the pandemic. This is essential for containing the spread of COVID-19 and the fear associated with it and mitigating its impact.