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Business News/ Science / Health/  WHO warns on Covid: Next weeks and months critical
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WHO warns on Covid: Next weeks and months critical

Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead, asked to government to invest in the research of Covid and its many variants. She also told to support patients with post Covid or Long Covid fight.

World Health Organization (WHO) (REUTERS)Premium
World Health Organization (WHO) (REUTERS)

Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead has warned that next few weeks and months are critical and asked to be vigilant for Covid-19.

Kerkhove has also asked individuals to get vaccinated and take measures to reduce the risk of reinfection. She has also asked people to wear mask indoors when around others outside your immediate family members.

In a series of tweet, she wrote, "The next weeks & months are critical to be vigilant for #COVID19. As individuals: get vaccinated and take measures to reduce risk of (re)infection. Mask indoors when around others outside your immediate family. Distance. Test. Ventilate. Wash hands. Live life safely. Be kind."

Also Read: Covid-19: 13 symptoms you shouldn't ignore and get tested

Apart from this, Kerkhove has also asked the Governments to reinforce surveillance and testing.

“Governments: reinforce surveillance, testing, sequencing, access to treatments & O2, vaccinate all at risk, surge capacities and PPE, invest in ventilation & in a strong protected work force. Ensure policies are agile to deal with epi, capacities & financial needs," she wrote.

Furthermore, she has asked to government to invest in the research of the Covid and its many variants. She also told to support patients with post Covid or Long Covid fight.

Also Read: We  have  a  small  window  to  contain monkeypox: WHO’s  Swaminathan

“continue to invest in research of this virus and its many variants and continue to develop new tools; support patients with Post COVID-19 condition (#LongCovid); fight the infodemic and misinformation; communicate regularly and openly and rebuild trust; share successes," she wrote.

Lastly, she warned that Covid is not over, however, the tools to end the pandemic are now available.

Also Read: Travelling to India from abroad? Govt mulls doing away with this rule. Details here

“COVID19 is not over but we have the tools to end this pandemic. We all continue to have an important role to play. WHO is here to work with everyone, everywhere to end the global emergency … everywhere," she wrote in the Tweet.

Last month, WHO had warned that the world must be ready for new variants of the coronavirus as Covid-19 infections rise.

Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the statement at a press conference amid the onset of new variants that are more transmissible, immune evasive and growing concerns about greater hospitalisations of Covid patients.

Earlier, WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan had warned about fresh Covid-19 waves. There is mounting evidence that suggests that Omicron subvariants –BA.4 and BA.5 – are infecting people who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus infection.

Earlier at a press conference, Tedros Ghebreyesus had said he was concerned about the climbing Covid-19 cases -- putting further pressure on stretched health systems and health-care workers.

“I am also concerned about the increasing trend of deaths," he said.

“The virus is running freely and countries are not effectively managing the disease burden based on their capacity, in terms of both hospitalisation for acute cases and the expanding number of people with post Covid-19 condition -- often referred to as long-covid," he said.

“New waves of the virus demonstrate again that the Covid-19 is nowhere near over. As the virus pushes at us, we must push back," the WHO chief said.

As per the New Age Health, the overall number of Covid cases around the world is fast approaching to 589 million. According to the latest global data, the total case count mounted to 588,866,875 while the death toll reached 6,435,704 on Sunday morning.

US has recorded 93,897,604 cases so far and 1,058,726 people have died from the virus. India’s daily Covid-19 caseload as on 10 August is over 16,000. The seventh wave of Covid hit Canada in the month of June and July. Mainland China has reported 1,094 new coronavirus cases for August 9.

Earlier in July, BA.5, part of the Omicron family, was the latest coronavirus variant to cause widespread waves of infection globally.

The BA.5 subvariant of Omicron had estimated to make up 77.9 percent of the circulating coronavirus variants in the United States for the week ended July 16, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had said.

BA.5, which has shown to be particularly good at evading the immune protection afforded either by vaccination or prior infection, have been driving a surge of new infections globally.

There is also no evidence that BA.5 is more dangerous than any of the other Omicron variants, the WHO's Van Kerkhove had stressed, although spikes in cases can put health services under pressure and risk more people getting long COVID.

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Published: 10 Aug 2022, 10:48 AM IST
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