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At a virtual press conference from Geneva, WHO’s executive director for emergencies, Michael Ryan, asked how many deaths the organization is predicting and replied that “Only one million dead is already terrible and we should think about it before we start thinking about two million.”
But, he asked shortly after, “Are we collectively prepared to do what is necessary to avoid such a number?”
“Are we determined to take multilateral action, global collective action to control this virus instead of letting it control our lives?”he added.
“If we don’t, yes, we will look at that number and sadly far above. Unless we do everything the figures you speak of are not unimaginable but unfortunately, and unfortunately, very likely. “
It is not enough to “pray”
Michael Ryan recognized that the priority is the financing, production and distribution of any vaccine against Covid-19.
“If we are seeing the loss of a million people in nine months, then we have to look at the reality of having a vaccine available in the next nine months. it is a great task for everyone involved ”, he stated.
However, the effort must be more comprehensive and cooperative on the same scale as the pandemic.
“If we don’t do more, we evolve in the nature, scale and intensity of our cooperation, then yes, we will see that number and sadly a higher one. The time to act is now“, additional
“It is not just about testing and monitoring outbreaks, not just applying medical care, not just social distancing, not just working on vaccines, you have to do all this at the same time,” insisted the director of the WHO. for emergencies.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, also warned those who put all the chips in a vaccine.
“Our message is that, As we work on vaccines, we must work even harder to use the tools we already have at our disposal.“, he said, recalling that these were the ones that allowed some countries to control the pandemic.
“By using these tools already available, lives are saved now,” he recalled. “We cannot save lives today simply by praying or working alone on the vaccines that will come later.Ghebreyesus insisted.
Europe worries
The WHO also said it remains concerned with “the increase in the number of hospitalizations, an increase in the occupancy rate of beds and intensive care services” in Europe, said Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the organization for the Covidea pandemic. 19.
The organization recognizes that in the old continent the situations differ between countries and that, in part, the increase in registered cases is due to greater surveillance.
Crossing the increase in bed occupancy with Covid-19 patients with the seasonal impact of influenza, as winter approaches, will likely overwhelm already on edge healthcare systems, said the person in charge.
The new coronavirus has killed 984,068 people around the world since the start of the pandemic in China in December 2019, according to the latest balance sheet from Agence France Presse.
There have been almost 32.3 million confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, but the actual number is expected to be much higher due to those that have not been identified.
