Ghebreyesus added that WHO is responding to the COVID-19 surge in India by delivering thousands of oxygen concentrators, tents for mobile field hospitals, masks and other medical supplies
File picture of WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Image: Salvatore di Nolfi / EPA
India’s COVID-19 situation remains extremely worrying. Several states continue to see worrying numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday, warning that the second year of the pandemic will be « far more deadly » than the first for the world.
Ghebreyesus added that WHO is responding to the COVID-19 surge in India by delivering thousands of oxygen concentrators, tents for mobile field hospitals, masks and other medical supplies.
« India remains extremely worrying. Several states are seeing a worrying number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue, « he said at the daily press conference.
« And we thank everyone who supports India, » said the WHO Director General.
India is in the midst of a deadly wave of the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, 3,43,144 people tested positive for the virus, bringing the country’s case number to 2,40,46,809. The death toll stands at 2,62,317.
India’s COVID-19 number topped the 10 million mark on December 19, doubling in less than six months, and hit the grim milestone of 20 million cases on December 4 Exceeded May.
Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Egypt are just a few of the countries facing spikes in cases and hospitalizations. Some countries in America still have high numbers of cases and the Americas region accounted for 40 percent of all COVID-19 deaths last week.
There are spikes in some countries in Africa too. These countries are in an increased response mode and WHO will continue to provide support in all possible ways, he said.
Ghebreyesus noted that COVID-19 has already killed more than 3.3 million people worldwide and said: « We are on the right track that the second year of this pandemic will be far more deadly than the first.
He lamented that vaccine supply remains a key challenge and that saving lives and livelihoods comes with a combination Public health measures and vaccination that are not one or the other is the only way out of the pandemic.
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May 15, 2021 12:04:02 AM IST
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