Fresh waves of Covid infections show the pandemic is far from over, the World Health Organization chief lamented on Tuesday, warning that the virus is roaming free.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was concerned case numbers would skyrocket, putting more strain on healthcare systems and workers.
The number of Covid cases reported to WHO rose 30 percent in the past two weeks, driven by subvariants of the Omicron strain and the lifting of control measures.
“New waves of the virus show once again that Covid-19 is far from over. As the virus presses on us, we must push back,” he stressed.
He told a press conference that as transmission increases, governments must also adopt tried-and-tested measures such as wearing masks and improving ventilation.
“Subvariants of Omicron, such as BA.4 and BA.5, continue to drive waves of cases, hospitalizations and deaths around the world,” Tedros said.
“Surveillance has reduced significantly — including testing and sequencing — making it increasingly difficult to assess the impact of variants on transmission, disease characteristics and the effectiveness of countermeasures.”
In addition, tests, treatments, and vaccines are not used effectively.
“The virus is running free and countries are not effectively managing the burden of the disease based on their capacity,” he said, referring both to acute case hospitalization and the growing number of people with Long Covid.
– “Uncertain and unpredictable”
The WHO’s Covid-19 Emergency Committee met via video conference on Friday and noted that the pandemic remains a public health emergency of international concern – the highest alert the WHO can issue.
WHO Emergencies Director Michael Ryan said at the meeting recent changes in testing guidelines are hampering the detection of cases and the monitoring of virus evolution.
The committee stressed the need to reduce transmission as the impact of a pandemic caused by a new respiratory virus is not fully understood, the WHO said in a statement Monday.
The group expressed concern about the sharp reduction in testing, leading to reduced surveillance and genomic sequencing.
“This hampers the assessment of currently circulating and emerging variants of the virus,” the WHO said, fueling the inability to interpret transmission trends.
The committee said the trajectory of virus evolution and the characteristics of emerging variants have remained “uncertain and unpredictable”.
The lack of measures to reduce transmission increases the likelihood that “new, fitter variants with different degrees of virulence, transmissibility and immune escape potential will emerge”.
– Booster Boost –
Meanwhile, WHO’s European office recommended a second booster dose of a Covid vaccine for the elderly and vulnerable groups.
Covid cases have risen sharply in most parts of Europe since late May.
The call follows Monday’s recommendation by EU health and medical authorities for a second booster shot for people over 60.
Coronavirus cases have risen by 57 percent in Moscow over the past week, the Russian capital’s health authorities said.
“We recommend that you wear a mask in public places because the new Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are spreading faster from person to person,” Moscow social services wrote on Telegram.
And hundreds of thousands of people have been locked down in a small Chinese town after just one case of Covid-19 was detected as Beijing’s strict zero-tolerance virus strategy showed no signs of abating.
Wugang Steel Production Center in Henan Province announced three days of “closed control”.
None of the city’s 320,000 residents are allowed to leave their homes until Thursday noon. The local authorities should provide the essentials.
China is the latest major economy to hold on to a zero-Covid policy, beating down new outbreaks with lockdowns, enforced quarantines and onerous travel restrictions, even as public fatigue grows and the economy suffers damage.
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