A global health emergency remains in place due to the Corona pandemic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The organization said Wednesday that the pandemic remains a public health emergency of international concern following its classification by the relevant expert committee last week. WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus acknowledged that “the global situation has improved since the start of the pandemic (…).”
However, he warned that the virus continues to change and many risks and uncertainties remain. “The pandemic has surprised us before and could do so again,” Tedros said.
Global health emergency in effect since the end of January 2020
According to the WHO chief, the expert committee is calling for strengthening surveillance of the pandemic and expanding access to testing, treatment, and vaccines for at-risk groups. The health emergency has been in effect since late January 2020, when there were fewer than 100 known infections outside China and no deaths.
WHO warns
Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the WHO’s Corona pandemic response program, warned there are still “millions of cases reported every week, but our surveillance is flagging.” She said this makes it challenging to keep track of the situation, particularly viral mutation. The more the virus circulates, “the more opportunities it has to change” and form an immune evasion, Kerkhove said.
- source: krone.at/picture: pixabay.com
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