Covid is not over… Even more so in this Olympic period. Nearly 40 athletes of the 2024 Olympic Games have tested positive for Covid-19. “It is not surprising to see athletes infected, because the virus is circulating quite rapidly in other countries”said Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s head of epidemic and pandemic preparedness, during a press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday, August 6.
“The virus is still circulating in all countries”
The Olympic Committee, in collaboration with the WHO, “looked at all the different approaches that need to be put in place” during mass gatherings such as the Olympics and taken “the right measures”The World Health Organization has stressed that the virus is “still very present” in the world, circulating ” in every country “.
These contaminations have “led to an increase in the number of hospitalizations and deaths in several countries”indicated Doctor Maria Van Kerkhove.
“Overall, the rate of positive tests is above 10%, but this figure varies from one region to another”with for example a rate higher than 20% in Europe, she detailed. But she stressed that monitoring of wastewater suggests that the circulation of the virus is “2 to 20 times higher than what is currently reported”.
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WHO continues to call on governments to improve surveillance of the virus and for populations to protect themselves, including through vaccination. But Dr Maria Van Kerkhove noted that the current situation remains different from the 2020-2022 period because the world now has treatments, testing tools and vaccines.
