Geneva: Director-General of The World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has stated that the world was still at “a critical juncture” in its battle against the on-going COVID-19 Pandemic and has called for an “immediate action” after many countries have reported a resurgence in new confirmed cases.
In a press conference here on Friday, Ghebreyesus said that the following few months are bound to be very “tough” and a few countries are on a “dangerous track”, as reported by Xinhua news agency
He said, “We are at a critical juncture in this pandemic, particularly in the northern hemisphere.”
The chief included, “Too many countries are seeing an exponential increase in cases and that is now leading to hospitals and ICU running close or above capacity and we’re still only in October.”
So as to prevent more unnecessary deaths, important health services from collapsing, and educational institutions closing down again, Ghebreyesus urged leaders to take immediate action.
Maria Van Kerkhovem, technical head for WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, while addressing the briefing said that progress is being made for an international mission to identify the zoonotic source of COVID-19.
She also included that the WHO has reached out to a team of international specialists and is expected to give out more information in the upcoming days.
She stated, “The first cases were detected in Wuhan of China last December, so the early studies will begin there.” While adding that then next phase of the studies will be constructed as the evidence and outcomes for the first phase become available.
Van Kerkhove included, “We will follow the science and follow the necessary steps that need to be taken.”
The total sum of global COVID-19 cases was at 42,114,524 as of Saturday morning, while the death toll has increased to 1,143,291, as per Johns Hopkins University.
It is apparent that the US is the most badly hit country in the world with the highest number of cases and deaths at 8,484,991 and 223,914, respectively. This was revealed in the latest update of the University’s Centre for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE).
India takes the second place in terms of cases at 7,761,312, while the nation’s death count increased to 117,306.
The next upcoming months are predicted to be very difficult and tough because of COVID-19, especially with no signs of the COVID-19 vaccine to be released in 2020.
