Photo: BARBARA GINDL (APA)
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced in Geneva on Monday that he would maintain the international health emergency. This was also the conclusion reached by a WHO expert panel that met at the end of last week. However, the pandemic has probably “reached a transition”, the WHO said.
According to Tedros, although the global corona situation has improved, around 170,000 deaths related to Covid-19 from around the world have been reported to the WHO in the past eight weeks. Health authorities are monitoring the spread of the virus less closely, while medical facilities remain overwhelmed in many places, Tedros said.
“Virus remains permanent pathogen”
The advisory board was also concerned that there are still not enough people in risk groups around the world and in poorer countries who have been vaccinated against Covid-19. “There is little doubt that this virus will remain a permanent human and animal pathogen for the foreseeable future,” the experts said.
The advisers urged states to put in place long-term action plans to prevent, monitor and control infection, and to remain vigilant even after the public health emergency has lifted.
6.7 million dead
When the WHO declared the corona health emergency on January 30, 2020, around 100 infections were known in around 20 countries outside of China and no deaths. According to the WHO, around 665 million infections and a good 6.7 million deaths have now been reported worldwide. The number of unreported cases is likely to be much higher.
According to official information, no new virus variants have been discovered in the current corona wave in China. Researcher Chen Cao from the National Health Agency’s Virus Institute said on Monday in Beijing that variants BA.5.2 and BF.7 are the dominant viruses in the outbreak in the world’s most populous country. During the holidays around the Chinese New Year, which has been celebrated since January 22, the genes of 1,421 selected samples from different provinces were sequenced without a new variant being discovered.
Wave in China has peaked
According to official information, the massive corona wave that has been rolling through the country with more than 1.4 billion inhabitants since the beginning of December has already passed its peak, despite the many trips to the New Year festival. The number of deaths and stays in hospitals fell significantly last week, the health department reported. However, there is no clear picture of the situation. Foreign researchers had predicted significantly higher numbers based on model calculations.
As the virus hits a large population in China that has had no immunity from previous illnesses and some are poorly vaccinated, there are fears in other countries that new variants may emerge. For this reason, many countries have also introduced tests for travelers from China. The government in Beijing is annoyed by this, although it itself requires negative tests when entering China. After almost three years of a zero-Covid policy, China abruptly lifted its strict measures such as lockdowns, forced quarantines and mass testing in early December.
Source: Nachrichten
