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The pandemic shows no signs of slowing down and the world is going through a “difficult period”. A survey published Monday by the WHO estimates that only 10% of the world’s population has been affected by covid-19, which means that much of the planet remains under threat from the virus. But the analysis also indicates that the spread of the disease continues, mainly in a second wave of infections in countries that believed they had overcome the worst phase of the pandemic.
The figures and evaluations were presented in Geneva by Mike Ryan, WHO’s director of operations, during the agency’s Executive Committee meeting.
According to him, the pandemic “continues to evolve” and “once again is increasing in the northern hemisphere.” In addition to new cases in Europe, Southeast Asia has also seen an increase in the number of infected people in recent days. “We are entering a difficult stage and we need to evaluate how to act. We have more knowledge. But we need to evaluate the next steps,” he admitted. Across Europe, cities like Madrid, Paris and others have re-implemented control measures and closed bars and restaurants.
“The virus has infected 10% of the planet’s population. What it means is that the world is still at risk,” Ryan said. “We have the tools and the knowledge to deal with it. But the future depends on how we decide to use these tools,” he warned. According to him, “many deaths could have been avoided and many others can still be avoided.”
The director’s analysis was seen by the Geneva governments as a shower of cold water in the narratives that the crisis was losing steam.
Tedros Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, took advantage of the meeting to ask for a minute of silence for the more than 1 million dead. But he made it clear that “the real figure is higher”, even compared to the official data of 34 million infected people. Every week, an estimated 2 million people are infected.
According to him, not everyone in the world reacted in the same way. Ten countries account for 70% of cases and deaths, while only three account for half. One of them is Brazil.
“Not all governments responded in the same way,” Tedros said. “Some acted quickly. Others had an outbreak, but they controlled it. There is a third group that, by reopening their companies, saw a return in the number of cases. And there is also a fourth group of countries that are still experiencing an intense transmission phase “he explained. .
To governments, Tedros insisted that “it is never too late to change the course” of the pandemic in a country, as long as there is “leadership and coherence.”
The WHO still had three priorities for the end of 2020. The first is to fill the financial hole to allow the global vaccine consortium to function. Today, the deficit is $ 34 billion.
“History will not forgive us in assessing how much money was allocated to national packages and we did not have the resources for global action,” Tedros said. According to him, the world would need only 1% of what governments have spent on rescue packages or two weeks of spending on cigarettes.
But the WHO also insists that the priority until the end of the year should be to maintain social distance measures, the use of masks and tests. “It works. It’s already proven,” he declared.
Finally, he asked for solidarity. “Accusing each other is not going to save lives. What saves is solidarity and unity,” he said.
“Instead of wasting energy against each other, we have to fight the virus. 75 years after the creation of the UN, joint action has never been more necessary than now,” he added.
