(Geneva) The World Health Organization warned on Monday that many countries were not taking the right measures in the face of the pandemic, after a record day of 230 00 0 new cases of coronavirus.
Posted on 13 July 2020 at 12 h 19 Updated at 13 h 16
France Media Agency
“I want to be frank with you: there will be no return to the old normality in the foreseeable future”, underlined the Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, during a virtual press conference.
“The virus remains the number one public enemy, but the actions of many governments and people do not reflect this”, he said, before ensuring: “Too many countries are going in the wrong direction” .
“Conflicting messages from leaders undermine the most essential ingredient of any response: trust,” he added, without quoting their names.
The head of the WHO once again called on governments to communicate clearly with their citizens and to put in place a comprehensive strategy aimed at eliminating transmission and saving lives, while asking people to follow the multiple barrier gestures, such as respecting the distance, washing your hands and wearing a mask, and isolating yourself if they were sick.
“If the basic principles are not followed, this pandemic can only go in one direction. It will get worse and worse, “he said.
The pandemic of the new coronavirus made more than 569 00 0 deaths worldwide since the WHO office in China reported the onset of the disease in late December.
The United States, which recorded its first death linked to the coronavirus in early February, is the country most affected in terms of number of deaths and cases, followed by Brazil.
“The epicenter of the virus is still found on the American continent, where more than 50% of cases have been recorded worldwide”, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“We all hope there will be an effective vaccine, but we must focus on using the tools we currently have to suppress transmission and save lives,” he added.
The senior official of the specialized agency of the United Nations called for “accelerating scientific work, finding common solutions and setting up a coherent and united global response”.
WHO experts in quarantine
WHO has itself been widely criticized by some, in particular by US President Donald Trump, for its management of the pandemic.
The United States, which officially launched the procedure for withdrawing from WHO on July 7, accuses it of having been slow to react and above all of having been too complacent with China.
Washington, however, welcomed the dispatch last weekend to China of a WHO fact-finding mission. These two experts – an epidemiologist and an animal health specialist – must prepare the ground for a broader mission which will determine the origin of the coronavirus.
“The team is already working, but remotely because it is in quarantine” as provided for in the Chinese procedure, explained the Director of the Program for the management of health emergencies at WHO, Michael Ryan.
In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Chunying Hua told reporters that a “basic consensus” had been reached with the WHO, “namely that the search for the origin is a scientific question ”.
She also affirmed that for the WHO, “the search for the origin is a constantly evolving process which could involve several countries and regions”.
