WHO: World faces ‘critical point’ in the Covid pandemic
The globe faces a “critical point” in the pandemic and needs an urgent “reality check” about how to combat spirally Covid infections, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Dr Maria van Kerkhove, head of the WHO’s technical response, said that the “trajectory of this pandemic is growing” even if it appears to be subsiding in certain countries.
“It’s the seventh week in a row [where we have] had more than 4.4m new cases reported in the last week. If you compare that to a year ago we had about 500,000 cases being reported per week,” she said.
In an impassioned plea to journalists, Kerkhove said: “We need headlines around these public health and social measures, we need headlines around the tools that we have right now that can prevent infections and save lives”.
“This is not the situation we want to be in 16 months into a pandemic, where we have proven control measures. It is time right now where everyone has to take stock and have a reality check.”
Covid-19 cases climbed by nine per cent across the globe last week while deaths jumped five per cent.
It comes as countries such as Brazil have seen infections skyrocket in recent weeks. More than 4,000 daily deaths in the country this weekend prompted scientists to warn that the pandemic has spun “out of control” in Brazil.
WHO urged the public and world leaders to continue to practice safety measures — including social distancing, wearing masks, washing hands and avoiding crowded spaces — even if coronavirus cases had declined.
“We too want to see societies and economies reopening, and travel and trade resuming,” said director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“But right now, intensive care units in many countries are overflowing and people are dying — and it’s totally avoidable.”
Ghebreyesus warned that “the Covid-19 pandemic is a long way from over,” adding that transmission was being driven by “confusion, complacency and inconsistency in public health measures.”
It comes as England saw its widest relaxation of lockdown restrictions for almost four months today as pubs and restaurants opened for outdoor service and non-essential retail reopened.
Coronavirus cases in the UK have plummeted from a record 19,650 on 29 December to just 1,730 yesterday, while deaths dropped to single digits for the first time in seven months.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the country to “behave responsibly” and maintain social distancing as England entered its second phase of the roadmap for leaving lockdown this morning.
“Today is a major step forward in our roadmap to freedom, as venues such as shops, hairdressers, nail salons, outdoor attractions, pubs and restaurants open once again,” he said.
“I’m sure it will be a huge relief for those business owners who have been closed for so long, and for everyone else it’s a chance to get back to doing some of the things we love and have missed,” Johnson added.
“I urge everyone to continue to behave responsibly and remember ‘hands, face, space and fresh air’ to suppress Covid as we push on with our vaccination programme.”