COVID-19 cases see a decline globally: WHO Director General

This is no time for complacency, Director-General (DG) of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a briefing session. “No one is safe until everyone is safe,” Dr Ghebreyesus said in a tweet while referring to the WHO’s COVAX initiative to ensure fair distribution of a coronavirus vaccine to poorer nations.

Talking to the media, the WHO chief said, “Last week saw the first decline in newly-reported Covid-19 cases globally since September, due to a decrease in cases in Europe thanks to the effectiveness of difficult but necessary measures put in place in recent weeks.”

“This is no time for complacency, especially with the holiday season approaching in many cultures and countries. We all want to be together with the people we love during festive periods. But being with family and friends is not worth putting them or yourself at risk,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus went on to add.

“We all need to consider whose life we might be gambling with the decisions we make,” Dr Ghebreyesus said.

He further asserted, “I would like to assure you that the WHO’s position is very clear. We need to know the origin of this virus because it can help us to prevent future outbreaks.”

“We’re doing everything to make sure that we know the origin. Some have been politicising this. Our position is very clear that we will start the study from Wuhan, know what has happened there and based on findings, to explore if there are other avenues,” WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.