The World Health Organization has warned that misinformation, that the Covid-19 pandemic is over while there is a more transmissible variant on the ground, is causing an increase in coronavirus cases globally.
“After several weeks of decline in the cases of coronavirus, infections are increasing again globally, especially in parts of Asia,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva today.
Ghebreyesus explained that these increases occur despite reductions in testing in some countries, which means that the cases we are seeing are only the tip of the iceberg, warning that when cases increase, deaths also increase.
“It is expected that increases at the local level will continue, especially in areas where the necessary measures to prevent transmission of infection have been lifted,” noting that there are unacceptably high levels of deaths in many countries, especially where vaccination levels are low among vulnerable populations.
Ghebreyesus stressed that each country faces a different situation with different challenges, but the pandemic is not over yet.