Covid-19 Death Toll Unacceptably High: WHO
Faizan Hashmi Published September 18, 2020 | 10:50 PM
Geneva, Sept 18 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Sep, 2020 ) :The Covid-19 weekly death toll of around 50,000 lives is unacceptably high, the World Health Organization said Friday as the one million fatalities landmark approaches.
The WHO said that although global death and infection rates from the new coronavirus were plateauing rather than rising exponentially, the worldwide figures were masking surges at lower regional and local levels.
The respiratory disease has killed nearly 947,000 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP, while more than 30.2 million cases have been registered.
"We're adding about 1.8 to two million cases per week to the global case count, and an average somewhere between 40,000 to 50,000 deaths," WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told a virtual news conference.
"Thankfully that is not rising exponentially. This is a hugely high figure to be settling at. That is not where we want to be.
"Even though those numbers are flat at a global level, that covers up the fact that at regional and sub-regional level in some countries, we're seeing significant rises in cases." Ryan said the pandemic still had a "long way to burn" and though the proportion of infected people dying had dropped as treatment techniques improved, "we cannot accept 50,000 deaths a week as an acceptable number".
- Worrying trends - Large parts of Europe on Friday geared up for broad new restrictions to stop the coronavirus and Israel enforced a second nationwide shutdown.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on Covid-19, said the UN health agency was seeing "worrying trends in the northern hemisphere" in terms of case numbers, hospitalisations and intensive care admissions, "and we haven't even begun the influenza season yet".
"The circulation of other respiratory pathogens will complicate the clinical picture," she added.
And while the world waits for a vaccine -- 36 are currently being trialled on humans -- the American said some countries had learned throughout the pandemic that they could get on top of the virus with the measures already available.
"As we approach 30 million cases and one million deaths, we have a long way to go," she said.
"But we are in a different place that we were in in January.
"We know so much more now, and countries are showing us that they can use the tools they have now to break chains of transmission and save lives."WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus meanwhile lamented the recurring pattern of money being thrown at virus outbreaks -- only after the event.
"Covid-19 has shown that collectively, the world was woefully under-prepared," he said.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
3 Gawadar attack victims funeral offered
Mbappe says he will leave PSG at end of season
Usmani felicitates Sardar Saleem on taking oath as Punjab Governor
DC for provision of facilities to people in Lasbela
Solar storm could bring auroras, power and telecoms disruptions
Court grants interim bail to PTI leaders
Ulema, Mashaykh call for political accountability, collaboration for Pakistan's ..
SHRC asks NADRA to issue CNICs to transgender as per law
Flash floods kill 50 in one day in north Afghanistan
CDA chief expresses commitment to promoting modern-day technologies
By wide margin, UN General Assembly votes to back Palestinian bid for membership ..
Musadik slams PTI's political approach as provocative
More Stories From Miscellaneous
-
Collective efforts vital to eradicate drugs addiction
15 hours ago -
Concerted efforts urged to ease traffic flow on city roads
6 days ago -
Land degradation: A threat to food security
6 days ago -
Revamping health sector, a gigantic task ahead
6 days ago -
American band promotes intercultural harmony thru music fusions
6 days ago -
Waste Management – A persistent challenge for MWMC
8 days ago
-
Experts for ending child labour
9 days ago -
Labour Day - A reminder for better facilities to workers
10 days ago -
Stage Drama Mohabati Manhoon presents in Arts council Larkana
12 days ago -
Wheat farmers in a fix on price, procurement mechanism
13 days ago -
Modern tools to help transform crime investigation procedures
13 days ago -
Sanam Marvi captivates audience with mesmerizing performance
13 days ago