WHO warns coronavirus ‘will be with us for a long time’ and says most of the world’s population remains at risk from catching the disease
- Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said ‘we have a long way to go’
- He said most countries are still in the early stages of their epidemics
- WHO said there were ‘worrying upward trends’ in part of Africa and central and south America
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
The World Health Organization (WHO) director-general warned that most people remain susceptible to coronavirus as most countries are still in the early stages of dealing with it.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference: ‘Most countries are still in the early stages of their epidemics and some that were affected early in the pandemic are starting to see a resurgence of cases.
‘Make no mistake: we have a long way to go. This virus will be with us for a long time.’
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference: ‘Make no mistake: we have a long way to go. This virus will be with us for a long time’
He noted there has been progress in western Europe.
The WHO said there were ‘worrying upward trends’ in early epidemics in part of Africa and central and South America.
They added that opening up global travel needed to be managed carefully.
The WHO’s top emergencies expert Dr Mike Ryan warned against opening up global travel too quickly, saying it would require ‘careful risk management’.
A soldier is disinfecting the streets in Quito, Ecuador, outside the Carondelet government palace. The WHO said there were ‘worrying upward trends’ in early epidemics in part of Africa and central and South America
A former WHO boss admitted scientists still don’t know whether people can catch the virus again after they have recovered from it.
Professor David Heymann said the possibility people may have coronavirus more than once is ‘the question that everyone is trying to answer right now’.
He said people might develop short-term immunity after recovering and then become at risk again weeks or months later.
Professor David Heymann said the possibility people may have coronavirus more than once is ‘the question that everyone is trying to answer right now’
Health Secretary Matt Hancock today said the UK is in the ‘peak’ of the outbreak as the UK announced 759 more hospital deaths.
The UK has seen 18,096 coronavirus deaths but an estimate of wider-ranging statistics has claimed the outbreak may have killed more than 41,000 when non-hospital deaths are included.
The National Records of Scotland revealed today that coronavirus deaths are 79 per cent larger than government statistics show with a third of all people dying with the virus dying in care homes.
