World in ‘New And Dangerous Phase’ of Pandemic: WHO

The new coronavirus pandemic is now in a "new and dangerous phase," said the World Health Organization on Friday, with the disease accelerating at the same time as people are getting tired of lockdowns.

WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged nations and citizens to remain extremely vigilant as the number of cases reported to the UN Health Agency reached a new peak.

“The pandemic is accelerating. More than 150,000 new cases of COVID-19 were reported to WHO yesterday — the most in a single day so far,” Tedros told a virtual press conference.

About half of these reports were recorded in America, with significant numbers identified from South Asia and the Middle East as well.

“The world is in a new and dangerous phase. Many people are understandably fed up with being at home. Countries are understandably eager to open up their societies and economies,” he said.

“But the virus is still spreading fast, it’s still deadly and most people are still susceptible.”

The novel coronavirus killed at least 454,000 people and infected more than 8.5 million people after the epidemic started in China last December, according to official sources compiled by the AFP.

Source: AFP