WHO Chief Warns Coronavirus Situation Is Worsening Globally

9 Jun, 2020 07:11 IST|Sakshi Post

GENEVA: WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual news conference in Geneva that the coronavirus pandemic situation is worsening across the globe. He said that "Although the situation in Europe is improving, globally it is worsening."

He added that almost seven million cases of COVID-19 have now been reported to WHO and more than 1 lakh cases have reported on nine of the past ten days. He stressed that, "Almost 75% of cases come from Americas and South Asia. Most of the African regions are still experiencing an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. Eastern Europe and Central Asia are witnessing a spike in coronavirus cases."

He remarked that "At the same time,  several countries around the world are seeing positive signs. In these countries, the biggest threat is complacency. It is important to see how much of the population has been exposed to the virus and the results from the studies show that most of the people globally are still susceptible to infection. We urge to conduct active surveillance to ensure the virus doesn't rebound especially as mass gatherings of all kinds are starting to resume in some countries. WHO fully supports equality and the global movement against racism. We reject discrimination of all kinds and encourage all those protesting around the world to do safely as much as possible, keep at least one metre from others, clean your hands and wear a mask if you attend a protest."

The WHO's emergency director Michael Ryan said that, "There may be situations with mass gatherings where local public health officials, on the basis of an abundance of caution, could advise people either to quarantine or to get tested."

He further asserted that, "We would hope that in any mass gathering now. People who have had now four to five months to really internalise, that someone who is unwell, should really be at home and not engaged in any public activity. But we would always defer to national and sub-national authorities if they wish and need to take necessary public health actions that are based on risk assessment, that is based on scientific evidence."

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