World Health Organisation (WHO) has again, warned that COVID-19 is still a global health threat and that it is not time to declare the pandemic over.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus said this in a statement on Monday while commenting on the outcome of the COVID Emergency Committee meeting held on Friday.
The WHO Director-General said that although the world is in a better position than a year ago, when Omicron infections surged, more than 170,000 COVID-19-related deaths had been reported globally, in just the last eight weeks.
Ghebreyesus noted once again that surveillance and genetic sequencing of the coronavirus had declined globally, making it more difficult to track known variants and detect new mutations.
He warned that health systems continued to struggle to treat a high number of COVID-19 patients and others with influenza and respiratory infections, amid staff shortages and health worker burnout.
The UN health agency chief also insisted that vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics remained critical in preventing severe disease, saving lives and taking the pressure off health systems and health workers globally.
Despite their proven worth, he said that the COVID-19 response remained “hobbled” in too many countries that are unable to provide these tools to the populations most in need, older people and health workers.
