The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned Tuesday that new waves of Covid-19 infections show that the epidemic is “not even close to its end.”
“New waves of the virus are showing once again that Covid-19 is not nearing its end… While the virus is pressing us, we must confront it,” Ghebreyesus said at a press conference.
“With the increase in hospital admissions and the spread of Covid-19, it is imperative for governments to publish tried-and-true measures such as wearing masks, improving ventilation, examination and treatment protocols,” he added.
The number of COVID-19 cases worldwide has risen by 30% in the past two weeks – a rise primarily driven by Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 mutantes, Dr Michael Ryan, the WHO’s chief emergencies officer, said during the press conference.
As of July 11, the World Health Organization has counted more than 552.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, of which 232.3 million are in Europe, with more than 6.3 million deaths since the beginning of the epidemic.
Ryan also stressed that easing health measures and restrictions on social distancing, as well as reducing the number of infection tests, are all factors that complicate the epidemic control process.
“The virus continues to spread freely and countries are not effectively allocating the burden of the epidemic according to their capabilities, whether in terms of transporting seriously ill people to hospitals or the increasing number of post-Covid patients, often referred to as the long Covid,” Tedros said.
The two officials were speaking on the sidelines of the WHO’s publication of the results of the last meeting of the Covid emergency committee, which was held last Friday.
The agency therefore declared to maintain the classification of the Covid-19 epidemic as a “health emergency of scientific concern”, which is the highest level warning of the organization, following the consensus of the committee.
The committee indicated the decline in the frequency of tests and genetic sequencing examinations, which would make it more difficult to estimate the impact of the corona’s mutant, and confirms the “inadequate current monitoring” of the epidemic.
The Committee notes the recent increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 in different regions of the world, as well as the failure to implement appropriate public health measures in areas that witnessed a resurgence of infections.