Premium| Listen to this article |
World Health Organisation (WHO) has asserted that the acute stage of COVID can be ended this year in case vaccination coverage can be increased and at the same time, measures are taken to stop the spread.
WHO's Maria Van Kerkhove said: We believe we can end the Covid emergency by end of this year. This can be done by increasing the vaccination coverage and increasing access to life-saving tools and at the same time taking measures to reduce the spread. We cannot forget the possibility of more variants and all the future scenarios of how the pandemic may unfold.
We need to take note of Post-Covid conditions, and we are still learning about them. We are collecting data from studies and WHO is learning about its affect on the heart, lungs, brain, and other body parts, she added regarding long Covid.
More deadly variants may emerge if…
Earlier this week, WHO also pointed out that with the virus still circulating, the risk of more deadly variants emerging still remains.
WHO warned that with winter approaching for Southern Hemisphere countries, “there is a high risk of another wave of new COVID infections." The coronavirus spreads more easily in cooler temperatures when people are more likely to gather in larger numbers indoors.
“With the virus still circulating, the risk of new and potentially more deadly variants emerging remains, and the pandemic control measures are pivotal to effective response to a surge in infections," said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO's Africa director.
Covid numbers dipped across the world but…
Detailing the current COVID-19 scenario globally, World Health Organization (WHO) notified Covid cases and deaths in Africa have dropped to their lowest levels since the pandemic began. WHO on Thursday in its report said, COVID-19 infections due to the omicron surge had “tanked" from a peak of more than 308,000 weekly cases to fewer than 20,000 last week. Cases and deaths fell by 29% and 37% respectively in the last week; deaths decreased to 239 from the previous week.
“This low level of infection has not been seen since April 2020 in the early stages of the pandemic in Africa," WHO said, noting that no country in the region is currently seeing an increase of COVID-19 cases.
Meanwhile, scientists in the U.S. warn the country may be about to see a wave of cases fueled by the omicron subvariant BA.2, which has already peaked across Europe. The country expects to soon mark the deaths of at least 1 million Americans killed by COVID.