WHO says it like it is..19 Jun 2020 19:41
WHO warns coronavirus pandemic is 'accelerating' after highest number of cases in a single day
The World Health Organization (WHO) said more than 150,000 cases of COVID-19 were reported on Thursday - the highest daily increase since the pandemic began. (Reuters)
The coronavirus pandemic is “accelerating” after a record number of infections were recorded in just one day, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
The global health body said more than 150,000 cases of COVID-19 were reported on Thursday - the highest since the pandemic began.
In a media briefing on Friday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said nearly half of the newly reported cases were in the Americas, with significant numbers also in south Asia and the Middle East.
Tedros told a virtual press briefing: “The pandemic is accelerating.
"The world is in a new and dangerous phase ... the virus is still spreading fast, it is still deadly, and most people are still susceptible.
“Many people are understandably fed up with being at home (and) countries are understandably eager to open up their societies.”
But Tedros noted how measures such as social distancing, mask wearing and hand-washing are still critical.
He said the toll would be especially great on refugees in particular, of whom more than 80% live in mostly developing nations.
He added: “We have a shared duty to everything we can to prevent, detect and respond to the transmission of COVID-19 detected among refugees in hospitals.”
The situation appears to be worsening in some US states. (AP)
It comes after a new Reuters tally showed more than 8.53 million people have been infected by coronavirus globally, with the worldwide death toll now at 453,834?.
The US has the worst outbreak in the world, with 2.1 million Americans infected and at least 118,435 who have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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