- The head of the World Health Organization said “too many countries are heading in the wrong direction” in the fight against the coronavirus.
- Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that people are receiving “mixed messages from leaders” and that, without basic steps being followed, the pandemic “is going to get worse and worse.”
- The Americas are the new epicenter of the virus, with countries like the United States currently seeing record cases, and India and South Africa are also on the rise.
- The WHO emergency response chief said some places in the Americas may need local blockades to “suppress transmission in specific areas where transmission is frankly out of control.”
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The head of the World Health Organization said many nations are going in the “wrong direction” in the fight against the coronavirus, warning that the pandemic could worsen if countries do not take action.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said Monday: “Let me be frank, too many countries are heading in the wrong direction, the virus remains the number one public enemy.”
Tedros said measures such as social distancing, hand washing, and wearing masks in appropriate situations should be taken seriously, Time reported.
“If basic principles are not followed, the only way this pandemic will unfold will be worse and worse.”
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), at a meeting of the group’s executive board in February 2020.
Salvatore Di Nolfi / Keystone via Associated Press
He said public confidence in efforts to control the outbreak was being weakened by “mixed messages from leaders.”
“The virus remains the number one public enemy, but the actions of many governments and people do not reflect this,” he said.
More than 13 million people worldwide have been registered as infected with the coronavirus.
More than 570,000 people have died.
Tedros did not name any countries during his briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, but the Americas have become the new epicenter of the virus, as Asia and Europe appear to have their outbreaks largely under control, even as they closely monitor a second wave.
The United States and Brazil have been the most affected countries in terms of total cases and deaths.
The United States repeatedly broke its own record for new daily cases in late June and early June, peaking on July 10 with more than 71,000 new cases registered, and states warning of new hospital crises.
Trump has taken the first steps to remove the United States from the WHO, criticizing his response to the outbreak and alleging that the organization is too close and appeasing China. Other countries have increased their funds to the organization in response.
Brazil’s cases continued to rise throughout June and July, and the country often reports more than 40,000 new deaths per day, although they appear to have been declining since July 11.
An aerial view of buried coffins in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, in April 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic.
MICHAEL DANTAS / AFP via Getty Images
Mexico’s cases also peaked in July, with 7,280 new cases registered on July 10.
Mike Ryan, WHO’s chief emergency response officer, said that some places in the Americas may need “limited or geographically focused blockages that suppress transmission in specific areas where transmission is frankly out of control.”
Cases are also peaking in India, where 29,108 cases were recorded on July 12, and in South Africa, where 13,674 cases were recorded on July 9.
