The cases are increasing due to the relaxation of public health measures, circulation of variants and ‘people letting their guard down’, says the director-general of WHO.
The number of new coronavirus infections increased globally last week for the first time in seven weeks, said the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a briefing in Geneva that the increase in cases was “disappointing, but not surprising”, noting that the upward trend was occurring worldwide, except in Africa and the region of the Western Pacific.
“Part of this seems to be due to the relaxation of public health measures, the continued circulation of variants and people letting their guard down,” he said.
In turn, Maria Van Kerkhove, technical head of COVID-19 at the United Nations health agency, described the increase as “a serious warning for all of us”, before adding: “This virus will recover if we let it – and not we can allow. “
So far, there have been more than 114 million confirmed cases of coronavirus, including about 2.5 million related deaths and 64.5 million recoveries, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Meanwhile, Tedros said it is too early for governments to simply rely on vaccination programs and abandon other measures to combat the disease.
“If countries depend only on vaccines, they are making a mistake. Basic public health measures remain the basis for the response, ”said Tedros.
However, he said it was encouraging that vaccine doses for medical staff in poorer countries were finally being administered, including Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire in West Africa.
The two countries were on Monday the first to start vaccinating people with the doses provided by COVAX, the international vaccine supply program for poor and middle-income countries.
The WHO chief also criticized rich countries for accumulating doses of vaccines, saying it was in everyone’s interest that vulnerable people be protected around the world.
“It is unfortunate that this happens almost three months after some of the wealthiest countries started their vaccination campaigns,” said Tedros.
“Some countries continue to prioritize vaccination of healthier young adults with less risk of disease in their own populations, ahead of health professionals and the elderly elsewhere.”
By the end of May, 237 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be ready for distribution in 142 poorest countries.
Mike Ryan, the WHO’s leading emergency specialist, said the global fight against coronavirus is in better shape now than it was 10 weeks before the vaccines were launched. But it was too early to say that the virus was under control.
“The point is that we are in control of the virus and the virus is in control of us. And now the virus is well under control. “