Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO), has warned that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is “long from over.”
He said on Monday that there has been a surge in new COVID-19 cases in seven consecutive weeks and an increase in deaths in the last four weeks.
During a recent briefing, the WHO chief said, “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.”
Dr. Tedros also noted that several nations in Asia and the Middle East have seen a large number of COVID cases, even though over 780 million doses of vaccines have been administered globally.
The WHO director-general also urged people to follow the public health measures such as wearing facemasks, maintaining social distancing, testing, contact tracing, tracking, and isolation.
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.”
“But confusion, complacency and inconsistency in public health measures and their application are driving transmission and costing lives,” he added.
Dr. Tedros went on to say that the WHO does not want endless lockdowns, explaining that most countries have shown us the pandemic can be contained and stopped.
“Many of those countries have gained control over COVID-19, and their people are now able to enjoy sporting events, concerts, restaurants and seeing their family and friends safely,” he said. “WHO does not want endless lockdowns.”
“We too want to see societies and economies reopening, and travel and trade resuming,” he added. “But right now, intensive care units in many countries are overflowing and people are dying – and it is totally avoidable.”
More importantly, Dr. Tedros stated that the ongoing pandemic is a long way from over, but said we have many reasons to be optimistic.
He said, “This pandemic is a long way from over. But we have many reasons for optimism,” “The decline in cases and deaths during the first two months of the year shows that this virus and its variants can be stopped,” he added. “With a concerted effort to apply public health measures alongside equitable vaccination, we could bring this pandemic under control in a matter of months.”
