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COVID-19 pandemic is 'far from over': WHO
The UN health agency has previously said that the acute phase of the pandemic could end this year but it would depend on how quickly we meet its target to vaccinate 70 percent of the population in each country, among other factors.
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Residents queue to undergo nucleic acid tests for the COVID-19 coronavirus in Jilin in China's northeastern Jilin province on March 12, 2022. (AFP/STR)
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World Health Organization spokesperson said over the weekend that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic was a long way off, citing a rise in cases in its latest weekly data.
The UN health agency has previously said that the acute phase of the pandemic could end this year but it would depend on how quickly we meet its target to vaccinate 70 percent of the population in each country, among other factors.
Asked by a journalist at a Geneva media briefing about the timing of the pandemic's end, Margaret Harris said it was "far from over". "We are definitely in the middle of the pandemic," she added.
Earlier last week, the WHO said figures showing a global rise in COVID-19 cases could herald a much bigger problem as some countries also report a drop in testing rates, warning nations to remain vigilant against the virus.
After more than a month of decline, COVID cases started to increase around the world last week, the WHO said, with lockdowns in Asia and China's Jilin province battling to contain an outbreak.
A combination of factors was causing the increases, including the highly transmissible Omicron variant and its cousin the BA.2 sub-variant, and the lifting of public health and social measures, the WHO said.
"These increase are occurring despite reductions in testing in some countries, which means the cases we're seeing are just the tip of the iceberg," WHO's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.
