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Pandemic is not over – WHO
COVID-19 numbers are on the rise globally especially in parts of Asia, cautioned the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus this week.
He told the media that these increases are occurring despite reductions in testing in some countries, which means the cases “we are seeing are just the tip of the iceberg and we know that when cases increase, so do deaths”.
This is after several weeks of declines in the reported cases of COVID-19, he stressed at a media briefing at WHO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Dr. Ghebreyesus underscored that continued local outbreaks and surges are to be expected, particularly in areas where measures to prevent transmission have been lifted. There are unacceptably high levels of mortality in many countries, especially where vaccination levels are low among susceptible populations. Each country is facing a different situation with different challenges but the pandemic is not over. “I repeat the pandemic is not over.”
“We call on all countries to remain vigilant, continue to vaccinate, test, sequence, provide early care for patients and apply common-sense public health measures to protect health workers and the public. We continue to call on everyone to be vaccinated, where vaccines are available and we continue to work night and day to expand access to vaccines everywhere.”
Meanwhile, reports indicated that West Asia and Asia are reporting the most number of infections worldwide.
South Korea had the most number of new infections in the world with an average of 404,998 new cases daily, with Vietnam having 273,418 cases and Japan 50,971 cases.
Hong Kong has had an increase in deaths with 284 being reported daily on average and South Korea 272 deaths.
This is while China is facing another growing COVID-19 outbreak with severe lockdowns in some of the country’s most economically important regions including Beijing.
China’s very strict ‘zero COVID’ policy has kept the country relatively safe from major outbreaks. But Omicron has created a very unpredictable situation.
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