32 C
Kolkata
Saturday, May 15, 2021

India’s Covid-19 situation hugely concerning: WHO chief Tedros Adhanom

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
WhatsApp




India’s Covid-19 situation remains hugely concerning, with several states continuing to see a worrying number of cases, hospitalisations and deaths, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday, warning that the pandemic’s second year will be “far more deadly” than the first for the world.


Ghebreyesus added that the WHO is responding to the Covid-19 surge in India and has shipped thousands of oxygen concentrators, tents for mobile field hospitals, masks and other medical supplies.



“India remains hugely concerning, with several states continuing to see a worrying number of cases, hospitalisations and deaths,” he said at the daily media briefing.


“And we thank all the stakeholders who are supporting India,” the WHO Director-General said.


India is in the midst of a deadly wave of the coronavirus pandemic, with 3,43,144 people testing positive for the virus on Friday, taking the country’s caseload to 2,40,46,809. The death toll stands at 2,62,317.


India’s Covid-19 tally crossed the 10 million mark on December 19 and in under six months it has doubled, surpassing the grim milestone of 20 million cases on May 4.


Ghebreyesus pointed out that the emergency-like situation was not restricted to India.


Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Egypt are just some of the countries that are dealing with spikes in cases and hospitalisations, he said adding that some countries in the Americas still have high numbers of cases and as a region, the Americas accounted for 40 per cent of all COVID-19 deaths last week.


There are also spikes in some countries in Africa. These countries are in heightened response mode and WHO will continue to provide support in all ways possible, he said.


Noting that COVID-19 has already cost more than 3.3 million lives across the world, Ghebreyesus said, “We’re on track for the second year of this pandemic to be far more deadly than the first.


He lamented that vaccine supply remains a key challenge and that saving lives and livelihoods with a combination of public health measures and vaccination not one or the other – is the only way out of the pandemic.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor





Source link

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
WhatsApp
Avatar
NEWS EDITOR
News Editor - Breaking News Exchange is mainly to inform the public about events that are around them and may affect them. Often news is for entertainment purposes too; to provide a distraction of information about other places people are unable to get to or have little influence over. News can make people feel connected too.

Related Articles

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Stay Connected

578FansLike
624FollowersFollow
144SubscribersSubscribe
- Advertisement -

Latest Articles