The World Health Organization is warning that there is no victory in sight yet in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom sounded the alarm in a briefing on Monday, where he warned that the global pandemic is speeding up even as countries continue efforts to eliminate its threat.
“We all want this to be over. We all want to get on with our lives,” said Tedros.
“But the hard reality is: this is not even close to being over. Although many countries have made some progress, globally the pandemic is actually speeding up.”
Tedros’ remarks come as the world gears to mark six months since the detection of the disease.
Tuesday marks six months since WHO received the first reports of a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in China.
It comes at a time when the number of infections globally have surpassed 10 million and the number of deaths exceed 500,000.
“This is a moment for all of us to reflect on the progress we have made and the lessons we have learned, and to recommit ourselves to doing everything we can to save lives,” Tedros noted.
“Six months ago, none of us could have imagined how our world – and our lives – would be thrown into turmoil by this new virus.”
The WHO chief urged countries to renew their commitment to universal health coverage as the cornerstone of social and economic development.
He hailed the countries that have implemented various unprecedented measures to tackle the spread of the virus, but highlighted that there is still more to do.
Tedros noted that the virus still posed a huge threat globally, and that no country should relax their response.
“Most people remain susceptible. The virus still has a lot of room to move,” he said.
