By Emma Farge
GENEVA (Reuters) – A World Health Organization official on Tuesday described the COVID-19 pandemic as “a big wave” and warned against complacency in the northern hemisphere summer as the infection does not share the trend of the Flu to follow the seasons.
WHO officials have endeavored to avoid describing the resurgence of COVID-19 cases such as those in Hong Kong as “waves”, as this suggests that the virus is behaving beyond human control, when made concerted action may delay its spread.
Margaret Harris repeated that message at a virtual meeting in Geneva. “We are in the first wave. It will be a great wave. It will rise and fall a little. The best thing to do is to flatten it and turn it into something that moves at your feet,” she said.
Noting the high numbers of cases in the middle of the United States’ summer, he urged vigilance in the application of measures and warned against mass meetings.
“People are still thinking about the seasons. What we all need
understand this is a new virus and … this is
behave differently, “he said.
“Summer is a problem. This virus likes all weather.”
However, he expressed concern about COVID-19 cases that matched normal seasonal influenza cases during the southern hemisphere winter, and said the Geneva-based agency was closely monitoring this.
So far, he said, laboratory samples don’t show a large number of flu cases, suggesting a later-than-normal start to the season.
“If you have an increase in respiratory disease when you already have a very high burden of respiratory disease, that puts even more pressure on the health system,” he said, urging people to get a flu shot.
(Report by Emma Farge; Edition by Michael Shields, William Maclean)
