Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, stated at a news conference in Geneva on Wednesday that the world has never been in a better position to end the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to him, last week had the lowest number of Covid-19-related deaths reported on a weekly basis since March 2020. “We are now in a stronger position than ever to stop the pandemic. Although we haven’t arrived yet, the end is in sight.
When the finish line is in sight, Tedros stated, “a marathon runner does not stop; she races harder with all the energy she has left.” “And we must. The worst time to quit running is right now even if we can see the finish line and are in a winning position. Now is the time to push ourselves further to ensure we reach the finish line and earn the benefits of all our labor.
He remarked, “Let’s seize this moment. There is still a possibility of more mutations, deaths, upheaval, and uncertainty.”
On Wednesday, the WHO published six policy briefs outlining the main steps that states should take to stop the epidemic. The briefings provide advice on how to save lives, safeguard health systems, and prevent social and economic damage based on the evidence and experience of the previous 32 months. According to Tedros, they are “an urgent appeal for countries to examine their policies carefully and improve them for Covid-19 and future diseases with the potential to cause pandemics.”
The number of cases has been steadily declining both globally and in the US, despite the fact that official case counts have dramatically decreased.
The most recent WHO bulletin indicates that weekly case counts are decreasing across all areas, with a 28% overall decrease from the week prior. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, cases have been slowly declining in the US for the previous two months.
According to the WHO’s weekly epidemiological bulletin, there were just over 11,000 recorded fatalities between September 5 and 11, a 22% drop from the week prior.
Five of the WHO regions experienced decreases: The European region by 31%, South-East Asia by 25%, the Americas region by 22%, the Western Pacific region by 11%, and the Eastern Mediterranean region by 10%. In the African Region, there was a 10% increase in fatalities.
Weekly fatalities were most prevalent in the United States, followed by Japan, Russia, Brazil, and the Philippines.
As on September 11, there have been over 6.4 million recorded deaths worldwide.
Around two-thirds of the world’s population, and specifically, approximately the same number in the US, have received at least their initial series of vaccinations. However, there are still big differences in Covid-19 vaccination rates in low-income nations, and those rates aren’t moving much right now, notably in the US.
According to predictions made by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hospital admissions and fatalities will remain stable during the coming month.
