LONDON, Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- More than
17,000 people from around the world signed up to participate in the
WTTC/Carnival Corporation Global Scientific Summit on
COVID-19 last week to hear directly from 12 renowned public
health experts and scientists, sharing their knowledge and the
latest evidence-based practices related to the prevention,
detection and mitigation of COVID-19.
The free, open-to-the public event was hosted by the World
Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which represents the global
travel and tourism private sector, and Carnival Corporation &
plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest cruise
company.
The virtual summit explored the most up-to-date science and
medical evidence related to COVID-19 to help inform practical,
adaptable and science-based solutions for the "new normal."
Gloria Guevara, WTTC president
and CEO, said: "The summit accomplished exactly what it set out to
do, as a platform for leading health experts and scientists to
discuss the latest thinking, best practices and evidence-based
protection and mitigation measures, such as testing and tracing,
which is going to be crucial in the recovery. It was also
interesting to learn that the widespread adoption of protective
face masks can dramatically improve the current situation.
"We'd like to thank our esteemed panelists, our WTTC members and
viewers who joined us from around the globe. It is clear that after
hearing from our panelists, we must support a more vigorous program
of testing and tracing globally, if we want to transition to a new
normal and return to safe travels. As the world learns to live with
COVID-19, it is imperative that we continue to prioritize public
health and saving lives, whilst restoring consumer confidence,
driving global economic recovery, and saving the jobs of millions
of people whose very livelihoods depend upon a thriving travel and
tourism sector.
"We are delighted to be working with Carnival Corporation, and
this unique summit gave the public and our members in the travel
industry a chance to hear facts directly from scientists, which was
an invaluable experience."
"This summit allowed us to put the general public in direct
communication with the leading experts working on science-based
solutions to mitigating and living with COVID-19," said
Arnold Donald, president and CEO of
Carnival Corporation, and a member of the WTTC executive committee
and its vice chair for North
America. "The pandemic touches all corners of society and is
in one way or another affecting everyone and all industries. We are
grateful to the distinguished panelists who shared straightforward,
easy-to-understand insights about living in a world with the virus,
and we appreciate WTTC partnering with us to present this
event."
The summit covered epidemiology, transmission, screening and
testing, therapeutics and practical risk mitigation in three
one-hour sessions.
A session on "The Science of COVID-19" focused on epidemiology,
transmission and testing, with featured speakers Dr. Steven Gordon, chair of infectious disease at
Cleveland Clinic; Dr. William Morice
II, president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories; Dr. Stacey L. Schultz-Cherry, co-principal
investigator, St. Jude Center for Excellence in Influenza Research
and Surveillance; and Dr. Joshua
Wolf, associate member of the infectious diseases department
at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
The prestigious lineup of speakers for the "Treatment &
Prevention" session, where discussion included vaccines, were Dr.
Julio Frenk, president of the
University of Miami and former Minister
of Health for Mexico; Dr.
Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, head of
pathology at Mount Sinai Hospital; Dr. Jewel Mullen, associate dean for health equity
at Dell Medical School at the University of
Texas Austin; and Dr. Vivek
Murthy, the 19th Surgeon General of the United States.
The final session on "Life in a COVID-19 World," looked at best
approaches in mitigating spread and featured Dr. Thomas Cahill, physician and venture capitalist
with Scientists to Stop COVID-19; Dr. Michael Lin, neurobiology & bioengineering
associate professor at Stanford
University; Dr. Michael
Rosbash, 2017 Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine and
professor at Brandeis University; and
Dr. Stuart Schreiber, a Harvard University chemist and co-founder of the
Broad Institute.
To replay the summit, please visit CovidScienceSummit.com.
About WTTC
Evidence from WTTC's Crisis Readiness
report, which looked at 90 different types of crises, highlights
the importance of public-private cooperation to ensure that smart
policies and effective communities are in place to enable a more
resilient travel and tourism sector.
According to WTTC's 2020 Economic Impact Report, during 2019,
Travel &Tourism was responsible for one in 10 jobs (330 million
total), making a 10.3% contribution to global GDP and generating
one in four of all new jobs.
For further information please contact the WTTC press office at
press.office@wttc.org
About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival
Corporation & plc is one of the world's largest leisure travel
companies with a portfolio of nine of the world's leading cruise
lines. With operations in North
America, Australia,
Europe and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival Cruise
Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O
Cruises (Australia), Costa
Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.
Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com,
www.princess.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.seabourn.com,
www.pocruises.com.au, www.costacruise.com, www.aida.de,
www.pocruises.com and www.cunard.com.
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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc