WHO: The Future Will Not Return To Normal

Posted by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Source: Twitter / @ WHO)

JAKARTA - The number of COVID-19 cases worldwide has reached 13 million. In the past five days, COVID-19 cases have risen to one million.

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than half a million people in six and a half months to launch Reuters on Tuesday. Director General (Dirjen) of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the atmosphere would not return to normal in the future, especially if preventive measures were continued to be ignored.

After the first cases were reported in China around December 2019, it took three months to reach one million cases. Meanwhile, globally, it only took five days to increase to 13 million cases from 12 million previously.

Meanwhile, in India, the country with the third highest number of COVID-19 in the world, has had an average of 23,000 new cases every day since early July. "Let me be blunt. Too many countries are going in the wrong direction. The virus remains public enemy number one," he said at a briefing from WHO headquarters in Geneva.

“If basic steps are not followed as the only way to deal with the pandemic, it will get worse. But it doesn't have to be like this. "

Data shows the disease is experiencing the fastest increase in numbers in Latin America. More than half of all COVID-19 cases globally are from the US.

Some parts of the world, especially the United States (US) with more than 3.3 million confirmed cases are still experiencing a large increase in the first wave of COVID-19 infections. Meanwhile, others have faced efforts to flatten the curve and relax activity limiting rules.

Some places, such as the City of Melbourne in Australia and Leicester in the UK are returning to lockups. Hong Kong has a relatively low number of COVID-19 cases at 1,522, but will again tighten physical distancing measures amid growing concerns about a third wave.

The US reported a record daily number of 69,070 in a single day on July 10. In Brazil, a total of 1.86 million people have tested positive, including President Jair Bolsonaro and more than 72,000 people have died.

Political events

COVID-19 numbers are increasing in about 40 US states. But US President Donald Trump and White House officials have repeatedly said the disease is under control and schools must reopen in the fall.

"The president and his government are ruining the health of our children," said US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“We all want our children to return to school, parents and children. But they had to return safely. "

WHO emergency chief Mike Ryan urged the US not to turn schools into "political venues" by saying they were safe for school because of the suppression of the spread of the coronavirus.