RE: Dow30 Jun 2020 18:35
Coronavirus: ‘Worst is yet to come’, warns WHO chief as global cases surpass 10 million
The worst of the Covid-19 pandemic could be “yet to come”, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned, as the number of reported cases across the globe continues to climb.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, said that some countries had experienced a “resurgence” in cases after reopening their economies, adding that the pandemic is “speeding up”.
He called for greater cooperation between world leaders to help limit transmission of the disease as countries begin reopening their borders following months of lockdown
“The worst is yet to come. I’m sorry to say that, but with this kind of environment and condition, we fear the worst,” Dr Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a briefing on Monday.
“And that’s why we have to bring our acts together and fight this dangerous virus together. Some countries are now experiencing a resurgence of cases as they start to reopen...”
Dr Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s comments came as the number of global coronavirus cases edged towards 10.5 million – six months on from when the pandemic first broke out in Wuhan, China.
More than 500,000 people have died after contracting the novel virus, according to official figures, with cases surging in the Americas, Russia and India.
Peru and Chile have seen cases surges in recent weeks. Brazil has now reported more than 1.3 million cases, while officials in the US have logged close to 2.6 million infections.
Infections have so far remained relatively low in much of Africa and Asia outside of China, although experts fear cases in the two continents are yet to peak.
“The virus still has a lot of room to move. We all want this to be over,” Dr Adhanom Ghebreyesus added. “We all want to get on with our lives, but the hard reality is this: this is not even close to being over”.
“With 10 million cases now and half a million deaths, unless we address the problems we’ve already identified at WHO, the lack of national unity and lack of global solidarity and the divided world which is actually helping the virus to spread... the worst is yet to come.”
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