[ad_1]
The coronavirus pandemic may not be the “big one” that experts have long feared, a World Health Organization official warned during the global health agency’s last virtual press conference of the year.
Since the first reports of the new coronavirus began circulating nearly a year ago, the WHO has repeatedly warned that the world must prepare for even more deadly pandemics in the future.
“This pandemic has been very serious,” said WHO emergency chief Mark Ryan. “It has affected every corner of this planet. But this is not necessarily the most important. “
The coronavirus, he said, should serve as a “wake-up call.”
READ MORE:
* British variant of coronavirus continues to spread globally, despite containment efforts
* Covid-19: UK sees record rise in daily coronavirus cases as new variant spreads
* Covid-19: everything you need to know about the new ‘mutant strain’
“These threats will continue,” he said. “One thing we must take from this pandemic, with all the tragedy and loss, is that we must act together. We need to honor those we have lost by getting better at what we do every day. “
Anja Niedringhaus / AP
Since the first reports of the new coronavirus began circulating nearly a year ago, the WHO has repeatedly warned that the world must prepare for even more deadly pandemics in the future.
After the new coronavirus emerged in China late last year, 2020 is drawing to a close amid the launch of new coronavirus vaccines. The number of cases is increasing in some places, public health experts are warning of a highly communicable variant of the virus first detected in the UK in September and documented in more than 20 countries since then.
While the variant does not appear to be any more deadly or vaccine resistant, it spreads faster and is likely fueling outbreaks from England to South Africa.
On Tuesday (local time), German health officials said they detected a case of the UK variant dating back to November. An elderly coronavirus patient who had the variant eventually died from the virus. The patient’s daughter had returned from Britain in mid-November, and the man’s wife was also infected with Covid-19, the disease that can cause the new coronavirus, but survived, Agence France-Presse reported.
Germany is one of several countries temporarily banning UK travelers to prevent the spread of the variant. Much of England is blocked.
India confirmed its first cases of the UK variant on Tuesday after finding it in six people who had recently arrived from Britain. Indian Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told reporters on Tuesday (local time) that the country will likely issue a temporary ban on flights from the UK as a result.
Countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East have documented cases of the rapid spread of the virus. Canada on Saturday (local time) was the first to report it in North America. It’s probably already circulating undetected in the United States, according to public health experts. The United States has the world’s highest count of coronavirus infections and deaths.
Bernd von Jutrczenka / everyone’s picture / Getty Images
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO).
As the death toll continues to rise, Russia said on Tuesday that 80 percent of the excess deaths it documented in 2020 was likely related to the new coronavirus, a count that would triple the country’s official figure.
Russia’s government reported more than 55,800 deaths from COVID-19, but including the new data on excess deaths would raise the death toll to more than 186,000, according to the BBC. Russia’s statistics service Rosstat has documented 116,030 coronavirus-related deaths.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said on Tuesday that 13.8 percent more people had died in the first 11 months of 2020 than in 2019, according to the BBC.
