Coronavirus crisis may get 'worse and worse and worse', warns WHO

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
(Reuters)
There will be no return to the old normal for the foreseeable future, the WHO director general said.
The new coronavirus pandemic raging around the globe will worsen if countries fail to adhere to strict healthcare precautions, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned on Monday.
"Let me be blunt, too many countries are headed in the wrong direction, the virus remains public enemy number one," WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing from the UN agency's headquarters in Geneva.
"If basics are not followed, the only way this pandemic is going to go - it is going to get worse and worse and worse."
Global infections stand at 13 million, according to a Reuters tally, with more than half a million deaths.
Tedros, whose leadership has been heavily criticised by US President Donald Trump, said that of 230,000 new cases on Sunday, 80 per cent were from 10 nations, and 50 per cent from just two countries.
The US and Brazil are the countries worst hit.
"There will be no return to the old normal for the foreseeable future ... There is a lot to be concerned about," Tedros added, in some of his strongest comments of recent weeks.
Tedros said the WHO had still not received formal notification of the US pullout announced by Trump. The US president says the WHO pandered to China, where the Covid-19 disease was first detected, at the start of the crisis.
Trump, who wore a protective face mask for the first time in public at the weekend, has himself been accused by political opponents of not taking the coronavirus seriously enough, something he denies.
A WHO advance team has gone to China to investigate the origins of the new coronavirus, first discovered in the city of Wuhan. The team's members are in quarantine, as per standard procedure, before they begin work with Chinese scientists, WHO emergencies head Mike Ryan said.
-
Coronavirus Pandemic
Covid-19: How the virus is putting a strain on...
The inescapable space shared during the initial days of the pandemic... READ MORE
-
Coronavirus Pandemic
Covid-19 vaccine in UAE: 53,859 vaccinated in 24...
This initiative is in line with UAE's plan to vaccinate more than 50... READ MORE
-
Coronavirus Pandemic
Covid-19: Medics in UAE urge people to avoid...
Doctors said private parties irresponsibly held during the festive... READ MORE
-
Coronavirus Pandemic
Covid-19: How can you take the vaccine in UAE?
Health authorities have assured that the vaccines currently being... READ MORE
-
Coronavirus Pandemic
Covid-19: Abu Dhabi tightens entry rules
This latest development is announced following the number of Covid-19 ... READ MORE
-
Weather
UAE fog alert: Speed limits reduced on key roads
The weather will remain cool with an expected increase in temperature. READ MORE
-
Coronavirus Pandemic
How Dubai inspectors keep Naif Market Covid-safe
Khaleej Times joins Dubai Economy during surprise Covid safety... READ MORE
-
Americas
Heavily armed man arrested at Washington...
He used a phony credential to access the restricted area where Biden... READ MORE







