New Delhi: The World Health Organization (WHO) revealed very stressful data in which it said that “The World reported more than 3.4 million new global cases of the coronavirus last week, and it is 12 percent more than the previous week.”
According to the Health Agency of the United Nations, “the number of deaths is continuing to decline, with about 57,000 in the last week.”
In the past week, WHO says the highest coronavirus infections were in Indonesia, Britain, Brazil, India, and the US. It says the increased transmission of the virus is driven by new variants, the relaxation of COVID-19 protocols, and a large number of people still susceptible to the coronavirus, despite rising vaccination rates in some countries.
At this rate, it is expected that the cumulative number of cases reported globally could exceed 200 million in the next three weeks, WHO says. It notes the highest increases in COVID-19 cases were in the Western Pacific and European regions.
WHO has urged countries to commit to vaccinating at least 40 percent of every country’s population by the end of the year. Of the more than 3 billion vaccine doses administered globally, only about 1 percent have gone to people in poorer nations.
The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) during his speech to an International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in Japan said that “I have come this time with a message for the world’s people to hear. I am often asked when the pandemic will end. My answer is equally simple: the pandemic will end when the world chooses to end it. We have the tools to prevent transmission, and save lives.”
Tedros also added that “The world’s common goal must be to vaccinate 70% of the population of every country by the middle of next year.”
“Our focus as a world united must be on doing everything we can to triumph over the pandemic, with determination, dedication, and discipline. We are not in a race against each other; we are in a race against the virus,” he said.
While speaking at the event, the WHO chief added, “The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us all many painful but important lessons. One of the most important is that when health is at risk, everything is at risk.”