A WHO spokesperson said on Friday that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic was still a long way off, citing an increase in cases in the organization’s most recent weekly data.
The United Nations’ health agency has previously stated that the pandemic’s acute phase could end this year, depending on how quickly we meet its goal of vaccinating 70% of the population in each country, among other factors.
Margaret Harris, when asked about the timing of the pandemic’s end by a journalist at a Geneva press conference, said it was “far from over.” “We are unquestionably in the midst of a pandemic,” she added.
COVID-19 cases began to rise around the world last week, according to the WHO, after a month of decline, with lockdowns in Asia and China’s Jilin province battling to contain an outbreak.
According to the WHO, the increases were caused by a combination of factors, including the highly transmissible omicron variant and its cousin, the BA.2 sub-variant, as well as the lifting of public health and social measures.
Since the virus’s arrival in the Americas two years ago, 149 million COVID-19 cases have been reported, with 2.6 million deaths. The Assistant Director also warned that the current increase in cases in other parts of the world should serve as a “warning sign” for the Americas. New infections have increased by 28.9 percent in the Western Pacific region, 12.3 percent in Africa, and nearly 2 percent in Europe.
As COVID-19 vaccination spreads throughout the Americas, countries must continue to prioritize the protection of the most vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, immune-compromised people, health care workers, and other high-risk groups, according to Pan American Health Organization Assistant Director Jarbas Barbosa.
