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Reuters
Dr Tedros said globalization could spread the virus faster
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) says he hopes the coronavirus pandemic will be over in less than two years.
Speaking in Geneva on Friday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the 1918 Spanish flu took two years to overcome.
But he added that current advances in technology could enable the world to stop the virus “in a shorter time”.
“Obviously with more connectivity, the virus has a better chance of spreading,” he said.
“But at the same time, we also have the technology to stop it, and the knowledge to stop it,” he noted, stressing the importance of “national unity, global solidarity”.
The deadly flu of 1918 killed at least 50 million people.
The coronavirus has so far killed nearly 800,000 people and infected 22.7 million more.
- What can we learn from the Spanish flu?
- How they tried to contain a pandemic in 1918
Dr Tedros also responded to a question about corruption regarding personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic, which he described as “criminal”.
“Any kind of corruption is unacceptable,” he replied.
“Corruption related to PPE … for me it’s actually murder. Because when health workers work without PPE, we risk their lives. And that risks the lives of the people they serve.”
Although the question is related to allegations of corruption in South Africa, a number of countries are facing similar problems.
On Friday, protests were held in the Kenyan capital Nairobi over suspected grafting during the pandemic, while doctors from a number of the city’s public hospitals battled over unpaid wages and a lack of protective equipment.
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Reuters
A demonstration took place Friday in Nairobi
The same day, the head of the WHO’s program for health situations in health warned that the scale of the coronavirus outbreak in Mexico was “clearly under recognized”.
Dr Mike Ryan said the equivalent of about three people per 100,000 were tested in Mexico, compared to about 150 per 100,000 people in the US.
Mexico has the third highest number of deaths in the world, with nearly 60,000 deaths since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins University.
- Where are the hotspots of the world of coronavirus?
In the US, Democratic nominee Joe Biden has meanwhile attacked the removal of President Donald Trump.
“Our current president has failed in his most basic duty to the nation. He has not protected us. He has failed to protect America,” Mr Biden said, promising to introduce a national mandate to wear masks if elected. .
More than 1,000 new deaths were announced Friday in the U.S., bringing the total number of deaths to 173,490.
What happens elsewhere?
On Friday, a number of countries announced their highest number of new cases in months.
South Korea registered 324 new cases – the highest one-day total since March.
As with its previous outbreak, the new infections have been linked to churches, and museums, nightclubs and karaoke bars are now closed in response around the capital Seoul.
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A number of European countries are also seeing growth.
Poland and Slovakia both announced new daily infections on Friday, with 903 and 123 cases respectively, while Spain and France have seen dramatic increases in recent days.
- Why Spain sees second Covid wave
In Lebanon, a two-week turnaround – including a curfew at night – came into effect as the country saw its highest number of cases since the pandemic began.
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Infections have doubled since a devastating explosion in the capital Beirut killed at least 178 people and injured thousands more on August 4.
The disaster left a roughly 300,000 people homeless and disrupted massive medical facilities.
