Lapses in strategies to tackle COVID-19 this year continue to create “the perfect conditions” for a deadly new variant to emerge, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday.
With the peak of the pandemic behind us, countries around the world are starting to loosen the reins on surveillance, testing and vaccination of the disease that has claimed more than 6 million lives so far.
About 90% of the world’s population now has some level of immunity to SARS-COV-2, either due to previous infection or vaccination, according to estimates by the global health agency.
PROTESTS IN CHINA ARE MUCH MORE THAN COVID SHUTDOWNS
“We are much closer to being able to say that the emergency phase of the pandemic is over, but we are not there yet,” Tedros told reporters during a news conference.
His comments come as China is experiencing a spike in infections.
World Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced Friday that he believed a deadly new variant of COVID-19 could be on the horizon as global restrictions continue to ease.
(BAY ISMOYO/Pool via REUTERS)
Addressing global vaccination gaps, WHO technical director Maria Van Kerkhove said the agency wants governments around the world, including China, to focus on reaching people at risk, such as older people. age 60 and those with underlying conditions.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY MAY REIMPOSE INDOOR MASK MANDATE IF COVID TRANSMISSIONS RISE
The further relaxation of COVID-19 testing requirements and quarantine rules in some Chinese cities was greeted with a mix of relief and concern on Friday, as hundreds of millions waited for an expected change in national virus policies after the widespread social unrest.
It was encouraging that China was adjusting its current COVID-19 control strategies, WHO emergencies director Mike Ryan said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Ryan said he hopes a coherent and clear strategy will emerge in China “that balances control of the virus with … people’s livelihoods, well-being and human rights.”
