WHO chief says pandemic ‘far from over’, worried about children

Geneva: The head of the World Health Organization warned on Monday that the new coronavirus pandemic was far from over and said that he was “deeply concerned” about the impact of the disruption of normal health services, especially on children.

“The pandemic is far from over,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, adding that the body was concerned about increasing trends in Africa, eastern Europe, Latin America and some Asian countries. “We have a long road ahead of us and a lot of work to do,” he said.

He added that shortages of vaccines against other diseases were being reported in 21 countries as a result of border restrictions linked to the pandemic, citing the GAVI global vaccine alliance.

“The number of malaria cases in sub-Saharan Africa could double,” he said. “That doesn’t have to happen, we are working with countries to support them.”

Reuters