especially immediately after birth during establishment of breastfeeding, whether they or their infants have suspected, probable, or confirmed COVID-19. Remarks: Minimizing disruption to breastfeeding during the stay in the facilities providing maternity and newborn services will require health care practices that enable a mother to breastfeed for as Parents and caregivers who may need to be separated from their children, and children who may need to be separated from their primary caregivers, should have access to appropriately trained health or non-health workers for mental health and psychosocial support. Remarks: Given the high prevalence of common mental disorders among women in the antenatal and postpartum period, and the acceptability of programmes aimed at them, interventions targeted to these women need to be more widely implemented. Prevention services should be available in addition to services that treat mental health difficulties. This recommendation is consistent with the IASC Reference group for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Setting 2020 Briefing note on addressing mental health and psychosocial aspects of COVID-19 outbreak – version 1. -detail/improving-early-childhood-development-who-guideline). 13. Caring for older persons with COVID-19 13 Clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) when COVID-19 disease is suspected: Interim guidance Older age and comorbid diseases such as diabetes and hypertension have been reported as a risk factor for death with people with COVID-19 (4). Therefore, older people are at highest risk for fatality and are one of the most vulnerable populations. It is important to recognize that older people have the same rights as others to receive high-quality health care, including intensive care. Refer to the guidance Integrated care for older people (ICOPE) (https://www.who.int/ageing/publications/icopehandbook/en/). For older people with probable or suspected COVID-19, provide person-centred assessment, including not only conventional history taking, but a thorough understanding of the person’s life, values, priorities, and preferences for health management. Ensure multidisciplinary collaboration among physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other health care professionals in the decision-making process to address multimorbidity and functional decline. Remark 1: Physiological changes with age lead to declines in intrinsic capacity, manifested as malnutrition, cognitive decline, and depressive symptoms; those conditions should be managed comprehensively. Early detection of inappropriate medication prescriptions is recommended to prevent adverse drug events and drug interactions for those being treated for COVID-19. Remark 2: Older people are at greater risk of polypharmacy, as a result of newly prescribed medications, inadequate medication reconciliation, and a lack of coordination of care, all of which increases the risk of negative health consequences. Involve caregivers and family members in decision-making and goal-setting throughout the management of older COVID19 patients. 14. Clinical research and specific anti-COVID-19 treatments There is no current evidence to recommend any specific anti-COVID-19 treatment for patients with confirmed COVID-19. There are many ongoing clinical trials testing various potential antivirals; these are registered on https://clinicaltrials.gov/ or on the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org.cn/abouten.aspx). Collect standardized clinical data on all hospitalized patients to improve our understanding of the natural history of disease. Remark 1: Contribute anonymized data to the WHO Global COVID-19 Clinical Data Platform; contact EDCARN@who.int to get log-in credentials. Disaggregated data for children and pregnant women are needed. Remark 2: There is an urgent need to collect standardized data for the clinical characterization of COVID-19 to better understand the natural history of disease with serial biological sampling. Clinical characterization research protocols are available (https://isaric.tghn.org/protocols/severe-acute-respiratory-infection-data-tools/). Investigational anti-COVID-19 therapeutics should be used only in approved, randomized, controlled trials. Remark 1: Refer to the WHO R&D Blueprint website for the most up-to-date prioritization of therapeutics (https://www.who.int/blueprint/priority-diseases/key-action/novel-coronavirus/en/). Remark 2: Refer to the WHO Core Clinical Randomized Controlled Trial protocol for use in evaluating the efficacy and safety of investigational therapeutic agents in combination with standard of care for the treatment of hospitalized patients with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (https://www.who.int/blueprint/priority-diseases/key-action/multicenter-adaptive-RCT-ofinvestigational-therapeutics-for-COVID-19.pdf?ua=1). Remark 3: If conducting an RCT is not possible, then investigational therapeutics should be used under Monitored Emergency Use of Unregistered Interventions Framework (MEURI), until an RCT can be initiated (https://www.who.int/ethics/publications/infectious-disease-outbreaks/en/) Acknowledgements The original version of this document was developed in consultation with International Forum for Acute Care Trialists (InFACT),