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- BBC World News
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7 hours
Image source, AFP
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The director general of the WHO assured that it is a “disappointing but not surprising” trend.
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After more than seven weeks in which new cases and deaths from coronavirus fell globally, the number of infections and deaths has rebounded, warned this Monday the World Health Organization (WHO).
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The director general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, assured that it is a “disappointing, but not surprising” trend given that, in his opinion, many countries “have lowered their guard.”
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Tedros explained that the increase in the number of cases is repeated in most countries in Europe, America, the Middle East and South Asia, although in Africa and East Asia the curves remain stable.
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And he noted that the WHO is trying to determine the possible causes behind the increases.
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“We are working to better understand these increases in transmission, although in some cases it is due to a relaxation of public health measures, together with the circulation of new variants (of the virus) and that people have lowered their guard,” he said.
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Targeted vaccines
The WHO director also warned that countries should not rely solely on their vaccination programs to relax measures, since they are still in a very early stage.
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Cases were declining until the end of February in most countries in the region.
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“If countries believe that they depend solely on vaccines, they are making a mistake. Basic public health measures remain the basis of the answer,” he said.
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Tedros also criticized rich countries for piling up doses of vaccines and said it was in everyone’s interest that vulnerable people are protected around the world.
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“It is unfortunate that some countries continue to prioritize vaccinating younger, healthier adults with lower risk of disease, ahead of health workers and older people elsewhere,” he said.
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This Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States also alerted to the growing increase in cases and deaths that have been reported in the country in the last week.
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“At this point, with the new variants spreading, we are risking losing the ground that we spent so much work on gaining,” said the director of the institution, Rochelle Welensky.
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Over the weekend, the United States approved a third vaccine, the first of a single dose, from pharmaceutical company Johnson and Johnson, and several countries are also expected to approve it and add it to their vaccination campaigns in the coming weeks.
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