Geneva: The head of the World Health Organization says the coronavirus pandemic is "not even close to being over" and that the outbreak is accelerating globally.
At a press briefing on Monday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that Tuesday marks six months since the UN health agency was first informed of a cluster of unusual pneumonia cases in China - the first indications of the coronavirus' emergence.
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"Six months ago, none of us could have imagined how our world and our lives would be thrown into turmoil by this new virus," he said, noting WHO has since recorded more than 10 million cases and 5,00,00 deaths globally.
"The critical question that all countries will face in the coming months is how to live with this virus. That is the new normal," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a daily press briefing on Monday, according to the media report.
He added that although many countries have made some progress against the COVID-19, the pandemic is speeding up globally.
According to the latest WHO numbers, as of 2 am IST on Monday, the total infected population worldwide had reached 1,01,99,798, including 5,02,947 deaths.
"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 said.
"The pandemic has brought out the best and the worst of humanity," he continued. "All over the world, we have seen heartwarming acts of resilience, inventiveness, solidarity, and kindness. But we have also seen concerning signs of stigma, misinformation and the politicization of the pandemic," he added.
Tedros said WHO will be convening a meeting this week to assess the progress made in coronavirus research so far and reevaluate priorities moving forward as the pandemic continues.
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Dozens of vaccine candidates are currently in early stages of testing and some may move into late-stage testing this summer.
He urged all countries to prioritize five sets of measures to save lives, including empowering communities and individuals to protect themselves and others, suppressing virus transmission, saving lives with oxygen and dexamethasone, for instance, accelerating research on COVID-19, and strengthening political leadership and solidarity.
Tedros also announced an updated and detailed timeline of the WHO's response to the pandemic for the public to understand how the UN health body has been responding to the outbreak.
Tedros warned that because "most people remain susceptible" to the virus, the world is still only in the early stages of the outbreak. "The virus still has a lot of room to move," he said. "The hard reality is this is not even close to being over...we're all in this for the long haul."
AP
