COVID-19 long way from over, warns WHO chief

Geneva: There have now been seven consecutive weeks of increasing Covid-19 cases and four weeks of increasing deaths globally, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization said, adding that the coronavirus pandemic is ‘long from over’.

“In January and February, the world saw six consecutive weeks of declining cases. We have now seen seven consecutive weeks of increasing cases, and four weeks of increasing deaths. Last week was the fourth-highest number of cases in a single week so far,” Tedros said during the briefing.

This is despite the fact that more than 780 million doses of vaccine have now been administered globally, he said.

“Make no mistake, vaccines are a vital and powerful tool. But they are not the only tool. We say this day after day, week after week. And we will keep saying it. Physical distancing works. Masks work. Hand hygiene works. Ventilation works. Surveillance, testing, contact tracing, isolation, supportive quarantine and compassionate care – they all work to stop infections and save lives,” he said.

He added, “But confusion, complacency and inconsistency in public health measures and their application are driving transmission and costing lives.”

While citing “many countries around the world” have shown that this virus can be stopped and contained with proven public health measures and strong systems that respond rapidly and consistently, Tedros said that the global body “does not warrant endless lockdowns”.

The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world as on April 13 topped 2.94 million; almost 136.3 million cases of infection were detected, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University. (Zee News).

Image courtesy of (cfr.org)

Share this post