COVID ‘long way from over’ as cases and deaths surge – WHO

(United Nations News) The COVID-19 pandemic is “a long way from over” but there are many reasons to be optimistic and it’s possible the pandemic can be brought under control “within months”, the head of the UN health agency said on Monday. 

Although January and February saw six consecutive weeks of plummeting COVID-19 cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief said that had gone into reverse, with last week yielding “the fourth-highest number of cases in a single week so far”. 

“We have now seen seven consecutive weeks of increasing cases, and four weeks of increasing deaths”, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists at a regular media briefing. 

More than 780 million doses of vaccine have now been administered globally, but several Asian and Middle Eastern countries have seen large increases in infections, he said. 

While acknowledging that vaccines are “vital and powerful” instruments, the WHO chief reiterated that they are not the only tools needed to defeat the coronavirus.  

“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”, Tedros underscored. 

Read more at: United Nations News

Source: CARICOM TODAY