Tuesday, 6 July 2021

Dangerous period of the pandemic: WHO warns over deathly Delta variant of the coronarirus

https://youtu.be/kk69yWl0Wpc

. https://youtu.be/ljYafQ5AkOo

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke on the Delta variant of the coronavirus. “Compounded by more transmissible variants, like Delta, which is quickly becoming the dominant strain in many countries, we are in a very dangerous period of this pandemic,” Ghebreyesus said. “But no country is out of the woods yet.

The Delta variant is dangerous and is continuing to evolve and mutate, which requires constant evaluation and careful adjustment of the public health response,” he said. The Delta variant of the virus was first detected in India. Watch the full video for more details.

Also read - https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-...

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The Star Malaysia - WHO: World in dangerous period

‘More transmissible delta variant found in 98 countries and continues to evolve’

GENEVA: The World Health Organisation has warned that the world is in “a very dangerous period” of the coronavirus pandemic with the more transmissible Delta variant detected in at least 98 countries.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that the variant, which was first reported in India, is dangerous as it continues to evolve and mutate.

Therefore, it requires constant evaluation and careful adjustment of the public health response.

The “Delta (variant) has been detected in at least 98 countries and is spreading quickly in countries with low and high vaccination coverage”, he said.

“In those countries with low vaccination coverage, terrible scenes of hospitals overflowing are again becoming the norm. But no country is out of the woods yet.”

Governments around the world have raised the alarm over the spread of the Delta variant even as they relax movement curbs and reopen their borders in an effort to save their battered economies.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said nearly 25% of new infections in America have been linked to the Delta variant, up from 6% in early last month.

Public Health England reported that the variant accounts for 99% of sequenced Covid-19 tests, while the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has warned that the Delta variant is set to account for 90% of cases in the bloc by the end of next month.

Tedros on Friday urged governments to vaccinate at least 10% of their population, starting with frontliners and vulnerable groups.

This, he said, would end the acute stage of the pandemic and save a significant number of lives.

He also urged vaccine manufacturers, like Pfizer-BioTech and Moderna, to share their technology as a way to accelerate new mRNA vaccine manufacturing hubs.

“The sooner we start building more vaccine hubs and upping global vaccine capacity, the sooner we can diminish surges,” he added.

Tedros said there are “two ways” to push back against the current surge in infections.

The first is to ensure that public health and social measures, such as early case detection, surveillance, testing, isolate and clinical care, are in place.

“This includes masking, physical distance, avoiding crowded places and keeping indoor areas well ventilated,” he said.

Second, the world must be open to sharing protective gear, oxygen, tests, treatments and vaccines.