The WHO director’s comments mark a change of tone after months of saying the world has never been better placed to end the pandemic.
“We are very close to being able to say that the pandemic emergency phase is over, but we have not yet achieved that goal,” Tedros said on Friday.
The organization estimates that around 90 percent of the world’s population has some level of immunity against Covid-19, either due to a previous infection or having received a vaccine.
“Gaps in testing and vaccination continue to create the conditions for the emergence of a worrying new variant that could cause many deaths,” Tedros said.
China is seeing record numbers of Covid-19 infections, and in Britain the number of cases has also started to rise, after declining for months.
The easing of COVID-19 testing requirements and quarantine rules in some Chinese cities was met on Friday with a mixture of relief and anxiety as hundreds of millions await a change in national virus policies after social unrest spread.
“While COVID-19 and flu may be mild infections for many, we must not forget that they can cause serious illness or even death in the most vulnerable members of our communities,” said Mary Ramsay, Public Health Program Director at the NHS. .
The World Health Organization has urged governments to focus on reaching people at risk, such as people over the age of 60 and those with poor health, in order to vaccinate them.
