The pandemic is a once-only health crisis in a century, the WHO said.
Geneva:
The WHO said on Friday the effects of the coronavirus pandemic will be felt for decades as its emergency committee assesses the situation six months after sounding the maximum alarm on the outbreak.
The new coronavirus has killed nearly 675,000 people and infected at least 17.3 million since its appearance in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.
The World Health Organization’s emergency committee, made up of 18 members and 12 advisers, is meeting for the fourth time on the COVID-19 crisis.
“It is disappointing to think that six months ago, when you recommended declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), there were less than 100 cases and no deaths outside of China.” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the start of the meeting.
“The pandemic is a once-in-a-century health crisis, the effects of which will be felt for decades.”
The committee can propose new recommendations or modify existing recommendations.
However, there is no doubt that the WHO will maintain the status of the pandemic as the USPPI – its highest alarm level – first declared on January 30.
The WHO has come under heavy criticism for the length of time it has taken to declare an international emergency.
The United States, which accused the organization of being too close to China, officially began its withdrawal from the organization in July.
The agency has also been criticized for recommendations deemed late or contradictory, in particular on the wearing of masks, or the modes of transmission of the virus.
– Unanswered questions –
“Many scientific questions have been resolved; many remain to be resolved,” Tedros said.
“The first results of serological studies paint a consistent picture: most people around the world remain susceptible to this virus, even in areas that have experienced serious epidemics.
“Many countries that thought they had passed the worst are now grappling with new outbreaks. Some who were less affected in the first few weeks are now experiencing an increase in cases and deaths. And some who have experienced major outbreaks have brought them under control.
The highly restrictive lockdowns imposed to deal with the pandemic earlier this year caused economic turmoil and an effective vaccine may be the only long-term solution to the highly contagious respiratory disease.
“Although vaccine development is happening at an record speed, we have to learn to live with this virus, and we have to fight it with the tools we have,” Tedros said.
(This story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
