A World Health Organization spokesperson on Friday stated that the Covid-19 pandemic was far from over, noting an increase in cases in the most recent weekly data.
The United Nations' health agency has already stated that the pandemic's acute phase could end this year, depending on how quickly we accomplish its target of vaccinating 70% of the population in each country, among other considerations.
Margaret Harris, when asked about the timing of the pandemic's end by a journalist during a Geneva press conference, said it was "far from over." "We are definitely in the middle of a pandemic," she continued.
After over a month of decline in Covid cases, infections started to increase around the world last week, with lockdowns in Asia and China's Jilin province battling to contain an outbreak, said WHO.
According to the WHO, the increases were caused by a mix of reasons, including the highly transmissible Omicron variant and its cousin, the BA.2 sub-variant, as well as the lifting of public health and social restrictions.
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Earlier this week, WHO had warned that figures showing a global rise in Covid-19 cases could herald a much bigger problem as some countries also report a drop in testing rates. The organisation also warned countries across the world to remain vigilant against the virus.
WHO's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that "These increases are occurring despite reductions in testing in some countries, which means the cases we're seeing are just the tip of the iceberg."
Low vaccination rates in some countries, fueled partly by a "huge amount of misinformation" also explained the rise, said WHO officials.
From March 7 to 13, the number of new infections increased by 8% globally, with 11 million new cases and a little over 43,000 new fatalities reported. It's the first increase since late January.
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-PTC News