WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus AFP
WHO Director Tedros Adhanom GhebreyesusAFP
Published on 05/22/2022 17:06
The Covid19 pandemic is “certainly not over,” the head of the World Health Organization warned on Sunday, despite a drop in reported cases since the peak of the Ômicron wave. He told governments that “we lower our vigilance at our own risk”.
WHO DirectorGeneral Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told officials gathered to open the WHO annual meeting in Geneva that “reducing testing and sequencing means we are blinding ourselves to the evolution of the virus”. He also noted that nearly 1 billion people in lowincome countries have not yet been vaccinated.
In a weekly report on the global situation last Thursday, the WHO said the number of new Covid19 cases appears to have leveled off after weeks of falling since late March, while the total number of weekly deaths has fallen.
Although there has been progress, with 60% of the world’s population vaccinated, “it doesn’t end anywhere until it lands everywhere,” Tedros said. “Reported cases are increasing in nearly 70 countries across all regions, and this in a world where testing rates have been falling,” he added.
Tedros is due to be nominated for a second fiveyear term at this week’s World Health Assembly, the annual meeting of WHO member countries. Source: Associated Press.