Coronavirus Outbreak
WHO Chief Raises Concern Over China’s Rising COVID-19 Cases, Requests Data On The Virus
Three years after its emergence in China’s Wuhan, exactly how SARS-CoV-2 first emerged as a respiratory pathogen capable of sustained human-to-human transmission remains the subject of active debate
Geneva: World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday once again called on China to share the data requested by the world health body to better understand the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Gaps in our understanding of post COVID19 conditions mean we don’t understand how best to treat people suffering with the long-term consequences of infection. Gaps in our understanding of how this pandemic began compromise our ability to prevent future pandemics,” WHO chief said during a weekly press conference.
We continue to call on China to share the data and conduct the studies we have requested, and which we continue to request. As I have said many times before, all hypotheses about the origins of this pandemic remain on the table, he added.
Mr. Tedros also expressed concern about the over the evolving situation in China, with increasing reports of severe disease.
In order to make a comprehensive risk assessment of the situation on the ground, WHO needs more detailed information on disease severity, hospital admissions and requirements for intensive care units support. WHO is supporting #China to focus its efforts on vaccinating people at the highest risk across the country, and we continue to offer our support for clinical care and protecting its health system, the WHO chief said.
Three years after its emergence in China’s Wuhan, exactly how SARS-CoV-2 first emerged as a respiratory pathogen capable of sustained human-to-human transmission remains the subject of active debate.
Experts have put forward two dominant theories on the origins of the virus. The first theory is that SARS-CoV-2 is the result of a natural zoonotic spillover. The second theory is that the virus infected humans as a consequence of a research-related incident.
Also Read: Wearing Masks, Covid-Appropriate Behaviour To Continue In Country: Official Sources
Last week, the WHO chief said that he is “hopeful” that the COVID-19 pandemic will no longer be considered a global health emergency next year.
We’re hopeful that at some point next year, we will be able to say that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency, the WHO chief told a media briefing, as quoted in a statement on the organization’s website.
He recalled that one year ago, the Omicron variant “had just been identified and was starting to take off.”
At that time, COVID-19 was killing 50,000 people each week. Last week, less than 10,000 people lost their lives globally. That’s still 10,000 too many – and there is still a lot that all countries can do to save lives – but we have come a long way, he added.
The WHO head said the criteria for declaring an end to the emergency will be discussed during the next meeting of the Emergency Committee in January.
Also Read: WHO Chief Scientist On Banega Swasth India Telethon: Key Learnings From COVID-19 Pandemic
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diarrhoea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.