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The head of the World Health Organization warned on Monday (NZT Tuesday) that “the worst is yet to come” in the coronavirus outbreak, reviving the alarm as many countries ease restrictive measures aimed at reducing its spread.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus did not specify why he believes the outbreak that has infected some 2.5 million people and killed more than 166,000 could worsen. However, he and others have previously pointed out the likely future spread of the disease across Africa, where health systems are much less developed.
“Trust us. The worst is yet to come,” Tedros told reporters at WHO headquarters in Geneva. “Let’s prevent this tragedy. It is a virus that many people still don’t understand.”
Some Asian and European governments have gradually eased or begun to relax “shutdown” measures such as quarantines, school and business closings, and restrictions on public gatherings, citing a slowdown in the growth in the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths.
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Tedros and his agency have been on the defensive after United States President Donald Trump ordered last week to stop US funding for the agency, claiming it failed to respond early to the outbreak. The United States is the largest donor to WHO.
SALVATORE DI NOLFI / AP
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the coronavirus pandemic could worsen.
Among other things, Trump insisted that the WHO had not adequately shared information “in a timely and transparent manner” about the outbreak after it erupted in China late last year.
Tedros said: “There is no secret at the WHO because keeping things confidential or secret is dangerous. It is a health problem.
“This virus is dangerous. It exploits cracks between us when we have differences,” he said.
Tedros said that staff at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. USA He has been sent to work with his agency, suggesting that this is a sign of WHO’s transparency.
“Have CDC staff [at WHO] It means there is nothing hidden from the United States from day one, ” said Tedros.
“Our colleagues at CDC also know that we immediately provide information to anyone.”
In one of his starkiest comparisons so far, the head of the UN health agency also alluded to the so-called Spanish flu more than a century ago, saying that the coronavirus has a “very dangerous combination … like the flu 1918 that killed up to 100 million people. ”
Tedros called the disease “Public Enemy Number 1” and said: “We have been warning from day one: He is a devil that everyone should fight.”
