(Geneva) The COVID-19 pandemic is “far from over”, the director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced on Tuesday at a press conference in Geneva.
Posted at 10:18 a.m.
Updated at 10:21 a.m.
“As the virus makes inroads, we must push it back,” said the Dr Tedros, adding, “The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. »
“As hospitalizations and transmission of COVID-19 increase, governments must deploy tried and tested measures like mask-wearing, improved ventilation, and testing and treatment protocols,” he added.
He spoke on the sidelines of WHO’s release of the results of the latest COVID-19 Emergency Committee meeting, which was held last Friday.
The UN agency has thus announced the maintenance of the COVID-19 pandemic at the rank of “public health emergency of international concern”, the highest level of alert of the organization, following a unanimous decision of the Committee.
The Committee points to the decline in screening and genomic sequencing, which make it “increasingly difficult” to assess the impact of COVID-19 variants, and underlines “the inadequacy of current surveillance” of the pandemic.
The Committee notes the recent increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in different regions of the world, as well as the lack of appropriate public health measures in place in regions affected by a resurgence of cases.