New COVID-19 wave: WHO chief concerned about rising deaths
PremiumAs a new wave of infections spreads across Europe and the US, the WHO urged governments and health care institutions to take action to stop COVID-19 transmission.
As a new wave of infections spreads across Europe and the US, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged governments and healthcare institutions to take action to stop COVID-19 transmission. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated at a briefing in Geneva on July 12 that sub-variants of the omicron strain were increasing the number of cases and resulting in additional fatalities. To stop the spread, Tedros suggested reviving standards like mask use.
The WHO is concerned that, despite a recent increase in cases, surveillance of the virus and any new possible varieties is waning. According to Tedros, a WHO committee reiterated that the COVID-19 outbreak is still a public health emergency of global concern, which is how the WHO categorises pandemics.
The BA.4 and BA.5 omicron sub-variants are at the forefront of a new wave of cases that are being centred in Europe when people attend huge meetings and start travelling again after two years of staying put.
The Office for National Statistics estimates that 2.1 million people in England, or one in every 25, tested positive in the last week of June. Even if a person has already had COVID-19, they are still susceptible to infection; nevertheless, immunisation helps to guard against serious sickness.
“New waves of the virus demonstrate that COVID-19 is nowhere near over," Tedros said, adding that he is “concerned about a rising trend of deaths."
The WHO stated that there is no evidence to date that BA.5 is any more severe than prior omicron variants or that vaccines and approved treatments are ineffective, noting that many governments are concerned about the BA.5 sub-lineage, particularly anecdotal evidence of the potential for re-infection.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's Technical Lead Officer for COVID-19, said that despite a decline in surveillance, including testing and sequencing to detect and identify variants, the virus is still spreading globally at a very rapid rate. The WHO's regional director for Europe already advised getting a second booster dose of the vaccination for all vulnerable individuals and those in their immediate circle.
(With agency inputs)
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