Foreign Desk Report
DUBAI: The novel coronavirus pandemic is still accelerating and its effects will be felt for decades, the World Health Organization´s director-general told an online conference on Monday.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual health forum organised by Dubai authorities that the greatest threat facing the world is not the virus itself, but “the lack of global solidarity and global leadership”.
“We cannot defeat this pandemic with a divided world,” he said.
“The politicisation of the pandemic has exacerbated it. None of us is safe until all of us are safe.”
The WHO warned last week of a new and dangerous phase of the coronavirus pandemic, with people tiring of lockdowns despite the disease´s rapid spread. The COVID-19 illness, which has now killed more than 465,000 people and infected almost nine million worldwide, is surging in the Americas and parts of Asia, even as Europe starts to ease restrictive measures. Lockdowns imposed to halt the spread of the virus have caused crippling economic damage, but the WHO says the pandemic still poses a major threat.
“The pandemic is still accelerating,” Tedros told the virtual conference.
“We know that the pandemic is much more than a health crisis, it is an economic crisis, a social crisis, and in many countries a political crisis,” he said. “Its effects will be felt for decades to come.” A vaccine remains months off at best despite several trials, while scientists are still discovering more about the virus, its symptoms and the extent to which it may have spread before being identified. The novel coronavirus pandemic is still accelerating and its effects will be felt for decades, the World Health Organization’s director-general told an online conference on Monday.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual health forum organised by Dubai authorities that the greatest threat facing the world is not the virus itself, but “the lack of global solidarity and global leadership”.
“We cannot defeat this pandemic with a divided world,” he said. “The politicisation of the pandemic has exacerbated it. None of us is safe until all of us are safe.” The WHO warned last week of a new and dangerous phase of the coronavirus pandemic, with people tiring of lockdowns despite the disease’s rapid spread. The COVID-19 illness, which has now killed more than 465,000 people and infected almost nine million worldwide, is surging in the Americas and parts of Asia, even as Europe starts to ease restrictive measures. Lockdowns imposed to halt the spread of the virus have caused crippling economic damage, but the WHO says the pandemic still poses a major threat.
“The pandemic is still accelerating,” Tedros told the virtual conference.
“We know that the pandemic is much more than a health crisis, it is an economic crisis, a social crisis, and in many countries a political crisis,” he said. “Its effects will be felt for decades to come.” A vaccine remains months off at best despite several trials, while scientists are still discovering more about the virus, its symptoms and the extent to which it may have spread before being identified.The number of coronavirus cases across the world has surpassed nine million while the pandemic has so far claimed more than 470,000 lives.
The United States tops both in number of cases and deaths with over two point three million cases and more than 122,247 deaths followed by Brazil with over 1,086,990 cases and more than 50,659 deaths. Over 4.8 million patients have so far recovered from the disease across the world.
The world saw the largest daily increases yet in coronavirus cases, with infections soaring in India’s rural villages after migrant workers fled major cities. India’s coronavirus case load climbed by nearly 15,000 as of Monday to 425,282, with more than 13,000 deaths, the health ministry reported.
