By WI Web Staff
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that the coronavirus pandemic is winding down, noting last week was the lowest reporting of deaths since it started in March 2020.
“We are not there yet, but the end is in sight,” he said at a news briefing in Geneva comparing the effort to that made by a marathon runner nearing the finishing line, The Associated Press reported. “Now is the time to run harder and make sure we cross the line and reap all the rewards of our hard work.”
The WHO’s weekly health report on the pandemic said deaths dropped by 22% in the past week, at just over 11,000 reported globally. There were 3.1 million new cases, a drop of 28%, continuing a weekslong decline in the virus in every part of the world.
Nevertheless, the WHO warned that relaxed coronavirus testing and surveillance in many countries means there are a number of cases going unnoticed. Additionally, the agency issued an advisory urging the government to strengthen its efforts against the virus with the winter months approaching and the prospect of new variants emerging, AP reported.
The WHO reported the omicron subvariant BA.5 continues to dominate throughout the world and makes up almost 90% of infections according to the world’s biggest databases. Recently, some governments have tweaked their vaccines to combat BA.5 and are inoculating their citizens against it, AP reported.
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