The United States and Brazil accounted for half of new daily cases of coronavirus as countries around the world struggle to contain their outbreaks, the World Health Organization said Monday.
The United States and Brazil reported 111,319 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, about half of all new cases reported to health authorities worldwide, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
“Let me be frank, too many countries are going in the wrong direction,” Tedros said at a press conference from the agency’s headquarters in Geneva.
“In several countries around the world, we are now seeing dangerous increases in Covid-19 cases, and hospital wards are filling up again,” he added. “It appears that many countries are losing realized gains as proven measures are not implemented or follow to reduce risk.”
In the U.S., Covid-19 cases continued to reach record levels over the weekend with Florida reporting more than 15,000 new cases on Sunday, breaking the daily record reported by any state. Florida now has more cases than several major nations with much larger populations such as Spain, Italy, and France.
Overall, the US has reported more than 3.3 million Covid-19 cases and at least 135,205 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. As of Sunday, cases are growing 5% or more in 37 states and also in Washington, DC, according to CNBC data analysis. The seven-day average of cases in the United States is more than 59,100.
As coronavirus cases in the United States continue to rise, public health experts and infectious disease specialists say a strong, coordinated message about the virus from President Donald Trump and the White House is more important than ever.
Last week, the WHO warned world leaders that the pandemic is “not under control” and is getting worse.
“The pandemic is still accelerating,” said Tedros on Thursday. “The total number of cases has doubled in the past six weeks.”
Tedros criticized the responses of some countries to the virus on Monday, saying that his actions have not coincided with the severity of the pandemic.
“The virus’s sole objective is to find people to infect. The mixed messages from the leaders are undermining the most critical ingredient of any response: trust,” he said. The virus “is going to get worse and worse, but it doesn’t have to be that way.”
Tedros emphasized that there will be no return to “normality” in the “foreseeable future.” However, he said that countries can control the virus and people can “get on with our lives” by suppressing transmission and practicing social distancing.
The public also needs “strong government leadership and coordination of comprehensive strategies that communicate clearly and consistently,” he said. “It can be done. It must be done.”
Tedros said world leaders need “to deliver clear public health messages.”
“We were not collectively prepared, but we must use all the tools we have to control this pandemic. And we have to do it now,” he said.
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