(Geneva) The world has never been in a better position to end the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed millions of people since the end of 2019, the head of the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. , Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Posted at 10:00 a.m.
“Last week, the number of weekly deaths from COVID-19 fell to the lowest since March 2020. We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic,” said Dr.r Tedros during a press briefing.
However, he warned: “We are not there yet, but the end is at hand”.
“Someone who runs a marathon does not stop when he sees the finish line. He runs faster, with all the energy he has left. And so are we,” the WHO chief stressed.
“We can all see the finish line, we’re on the way to winning, but it really would be the worst time to stop racing,” he insisted.
“If we don’t seize this opportunity, we run the risk of having more variants, more deaths, more disruptions and more uncertainty,” warns Dr.r Tedros, calling to “seize this opportunity”.
According to the latest epidemiological report published by the WHO and dedicated to COVID-19, the number of cases fell by 12% during the week of August 29 to September 4 compared to the previous week to some 4.2 million new declared infections.
The number of infections is undoubtedly much higher, in particular because mild cases are not necessarily declared, but also because many countries have more or less dismantled their testing capacity.
As of September 4, the WHO counted more than 600 million officially confirmed cases – again a number undoubtedly much lower than the reality, as is that of the officially listed deaths of 6.4 million people who died.