Cannot pretend Covid-19 is not here: WHO Chief amid spike in cases
WHO Chief affirmed that living with Covid-19 doesn't mean to pretend that it doesn't exist, he asked to use all resources to protect everyone
PremiumWorld Health Organization (WHO) Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday “we cannot pretend Covid-19 is not there,". The head of the UN body gave his remarks after the recent spike in Covid-19 cases across the world.
"Learning to live with COVID-19 doesn't mean we pretend it's not there. It means we use all the tools we have to protect ourselves, and protect others," Ghebreyesus said in a tweet.
In the last four weeks, there has been a 35% rise in Covid-19 fatalities across the world.
“On COVID-19, over the past four weeks, reported deaths globally have increased by 35%. Just in the past week, 15,000 people around the world lost their lives to COVID-19. This is completely unacceptable when we have all the tools to prevent infections and save lives," he said briefing media personnel on Monkeypox, COVID19, and other global health issues.
The WHO Chief further stated that all the people across countries are drained of the virus and pandemic. "But the virus is not tired of us. Omicron remains the dominant variant, with the BA.5 sub-variant representing more than 90% of sequences shared in the last month," he said.
In a video, Ghebreyesus is heard saying, "just in the past week, 15,000 people around the world have lost their lives to Covid-19. 15,000 a week is completely unacceptable when we have all the tools to prevent infections and save lives."
"None of us is helpless. Please get vaccinated if you're not, and get a booster (dose) if you need it. Wear a mask when you can't distance yourself (yourself) and try to avoid crowds, especially indoors. there is a lot to talk about learning, to live with this virus but we cannot live with 15,000 deaths a week. We cannot live with mounting hospitalizations. We can't live with inequitable access to vaccines and other tools," he added.
Globally there have been around 59.3 crores confirmed cases of Covid-19 and the number of fatalities is more than 64.5 lakh. The majority of these cases are reported in the United States which is around 9 crore. India follows the US with the second highest cases of around 4.4 crore cases.
The WHO chief also commented on Monkeypox that the world reported around 7500 cases last week. There is a 20% increase in Monkeypox cases over the previous week.
"More than 35,000 cases of Monkeypox have now been reported to WHO, from 92 countries and territories, with 12 deaths. Almost 7,500 cases were reported last week, a 20%increase over the previous week, which was also 20% more than the week before," he said.
Most of the cases of Monkeypox are being reported from America and Europe. The cases are mostly due to intercourse between men.
"Almost all (Monkeypox) cases are being reported -- from Europe and the Americas -among men who have sex with men, underscoring the importance for all countries to design and deliver services and info tailored to these communities that protect the health, human rights, and dignity," he said.
With Inputs from ANI.
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