WHO Chief Warns Covid Pandemic Is 'Nowhere Near Over'

The head of the World Health Organisaton (WHO) has urged governments across the world to bring back face masks and other ‘tried and tested measures’ as ‘covid is running freely’.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “new waves of the virus demonstrate again that covid is nowhere near over and that he was worried that the increasing case numbers were “putting further pressure on stretched health systems and health workers”

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Sky news reports: While many governments of wealthier countries have all but abandoned coronavirus restrictions following successful vaccine rollouts, the organisation’s director-general emphasised that the pandemic is “nowhere near over”.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said sub-variants of Omicron continue to drive new waves of cases, hospitalisations and deaths around the world.

Amid increasing COVID transmission and rising hospitalisations, Dr Tedros urged governments to “deploy tried and tested measures like masking, improved ventilation and test and treat protocols”.

“I am concerned that cases of COVID-19 continue to rise – putting further pressure on stretched health systems and health workers,” he said.

“I am also concerned about the increasing trend of deaths.”

Among the variants and subvariants being tracked by the WHO is BA.2.75 – nicknamed the centaurus – which was first discovered in India in May.

Scientists say the variant may be able to spread rapidly and get around immunity from vaccines and previous infection.