This article is reproduced from [China News];
China News, March 18th. On the 16th local time, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva, “After several weeks of After the drop, the number of reported new crown cases globally increased again, especially in parts of Asia.” In response, WHO experts issued a warning, calling on countries not to think that the epidemic is over.
Data map: Seoul, South Korea under the epidemic. Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Xu
Over 11 million positive cases were reported globally in the past week
According to the United Nations website, in the past week, countries have reported The WHO reported an 8% increase in Covid-19 cases, with more than 11 million positive tests.
Tedros pointed out that although some countries have reduced testing, cases are still rising, “meaning the cases we’re seeing are just the tip of the iceberg.” When cases increase, so do deaths.
He added that outbreaks are expected to continue everywhere, especially in areas where transmission prevention measures have been lifted, but many countries have unacceptably high mortality rates, especially among susceptible populations. countries with low levels of vaccination.
Tedros reiterated: “Each country faces different situations and faces different challenges, but the pandemic is not over.”
Variants and A combination of factors are driving the global increase in cases, starting with a more contagious mutation strains.
She warns: “Omicron has a very high level of worldwide transmission. The variant has sublineages BA.1 and BA.2, with BA.2 being more transmissible. , this is the most contagious variant of the new coronavirus we have seen so far.”
Of the more than 400,000 sample sequences tested in the past 30 days, 99.9% were Omicron variant. 75% correspond to sublineage BA.2.
She said: “We haven’t seen an increase in the severity of BA.2. However, with a high number of cases, you’ll see an increase in hospitalizations, which we’ve seen in country after country. situation.”
Data map: New York, USA under the epidemic. Photo by China News Agency reporter Liao Pan
Another factor contributing to the increase in new cases is the cancellation of public health and social measures.
Kerhoff warned that lifting the mask mandate, lifting social distancing, and lifting measures restricting people’s movement provided an opportunity for the virus to spread.
The expert also pointed out that “a lot of misinformation” is causing a lot of confusion among people. The misinformation “believes Omicron is mild, that the outbreak is over, that this is the last variant we have to deal with.”
Virus not yet stabilized
The new coronavirus has not “stabilized” and has developed into a Pure seasonal disease or predictable patterns.
He said the idea that “the epidemic in the northern hemisphere is over and now we have to wait until next winter” is very dangerous. “We’re seeing a surge in cases in the UK, for example, and we need to be very vigilant and cautious about that.”
Ryan added that the virus is very adaptable and spreads easily, with weakened immunity and In the absence of vaccines that do well against infection, the virus could continue to spread around the world.
He pointed out that the new coronavirus sometimes spreads rapidly in some places and then moves to another area with weakened immunity. The virus increases susceptibility and will live in these susceptible areas for several months until another susceptible area opens.
On March 17, local time, band members during the St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York paid a moment of silence to those who died of the new crown. Photo by China News Agency reporter Liao Pan
He said: “This is how the virus works. Experts have seen a polio-like transmission pattern.”
Kerho “We fully understand that the world needs to move on and we want to stay away from the new crown epidemic, but this virus spreads very efficiently from person to person, and if we don’t have the right interventions, the virus will catch on and continue to spread. The more the virus spreads, the more chance it has to mutate.”
Vaccination and vigilance
Tedros, Kerhoff Both Ryan and Ryan spoke about the importance of vaccination, noting that most deaths still occur in unvaccinated, older adults, and people with underlying medical conditions who are not fully vaccinated.
Ryan urges every country to revisit vaccination levels for the most vulnerable and ensure that everyone who is vulnerable receives at least two effective doses of the vaccine.
Kerhoff explained that the data show that the new crown vaccine is still very effective in preventing severe illness and death, including against the Omicron variant.
The world also needs a very robust surveillance system for the new coronavirus to understand how the virus is evolving, she said.
“Despite all the challenges we face, we still need to continue testing and we still need to maintain a robust sequencing effort and ensure that the sequences we share are geographically representative,” she emphasized. /p>