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“It’s a wake-up call,” WHO Emergency Situations Chief Michael Ryan told reporters at a news conference just a year after the United Nations health agency first realized it. of the spread of the new virus in China.
More than 80 million people have contracted the new coronavirus worldwide each year. people, of which almost 1.8 million. died.
“This pandemic is very serious,” Ryan said.
“It has spread very quickly around the world and has affected every corner of our planet, but it is not necessarily that big,” he said.
Ryan stressed that while the virus is “highly contagious and kills people, the current mortality rate is relatively low compared to other emerging diseases,” he said.
“We have to prepare because we may face worse in the future,” Ryan said.
WHO Senior Adviser Bruce Aylward also warned that while the world has made tremendous scientific strides in addressing the coronavirus crisis, including unprecedented vaccine development, it is certainly not yet ready to defend against future pandemics.
“We are dealing with the second and third waves of this virus and we are not yet ready to deal with and manage them,” he told a news conference.
“While we are better prepared … we are not fully prepared for this, much less for others [pandemijai]”Aylward added.”
“More ambition”
At the time, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed hope that after the COVID-19 pandemic, the world would be better prepared to face future threats.
“When it comes to conscience, I think it comes down to us,” he said.
However, the WHO chief stressed that “now is the time to be really serious.”
“More ambition will be needed,” he added.
But Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also congratulated the world’s scientists, who are working closely together to help end the pandemic more quickly.
AFP / „Scanpix“ nuotr./Tedrosas Adhanomas Ghebreyesusas
He also mentioned two new coronavirus strains found in the UK and South Africa that appear to be more contagious.
“We are working with researchers in the UK and South Africa to carry out epidemiological and laboratory studies to help decide next steps,” said the WHO chief.
He praised both parties for detecting mutations in the coronavirus.
With more than 50 states imposing restrictions on travel from the UK, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyes has also warned against taking criminal action against countries that share such information transparently.
“Only by testing and conducting effective tests will countries be able to detect strains and adjust their response strategies,” he said.
“We must ensure that countries are not penalized for the transparent exchange of new scientific data,” stressed the head of the WHO.
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