The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) pointed out this Friday that the number of deaths from Covid-19 has risen since early December, during a meeting to decide whether the disease remains an international emergency.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus further recalled that “the lifting of restrictions (to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2) in China has led to a sharp increase in deaths in the world’s most populous country”.
Speaking at the opening of the 14th meeting of the WHO Emergency Committee on Covid-19, the official also said the global response to the disease “continues to fail” as “vaccines, therapies and diagnostics (. .. ) essential in preventing serious diseases, saving lives” have not yet reached those who need them most.
“This Monday marks three years since I determined, based on your advice, that the outbreak of a hitherto unknown coronavirus constituted an international public health emergency,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, addressing members and advisers to the commission, chaired by Dr Didier Houssin.
He said he expected the commission to assess and advise him whether the situation remains serious enough to warrant the WHO’s maximum alert level.
The director-general of the UN agency dedicated to health stated that as it enters the fourth year of the pandemic, it is in a “much better position than it was a year ago, when the wave (of the virus variant) Omicron was at its peak. peak and more than 70,000 deaths per week were reported to the WHO”.
But he pointed out that in October last year, when the committee last met, “the number of reported weekly deaths” was “less than 10,000 per week,” while last week the WHO was informed of “nearly 40,000 deaths (… ) more than half in China”.
“In total, more than 170,000 deaths have been registered in the past eight weeks” and “the real number is certainly much higher”.
The committee, which has 17 members and 11 advisers, should end its meeting next Friday and the outcome of its deliberations is expected in the coming days.
Source: DN
