Tedros, who spoke on Tuesday during a weekly briefing, stated that “the virus is running freely, and countries are not effectively managing the disease.”
The Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called on authorities to bring back masking, ventilation and social distancing as cases of Covid-19 resurge globally.
Tedros, who spoke on Tuesday during a weekly briefing, stated that “the virus is running freely, and countries are not effectively managing the disease.”
RT reports that WHO had last week concluded that the virus remained a ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern’, adding that the pandemic was “nowhere near over.”
During the week of July 4-10, 2022, over 5.7 million new cases of Covid-19 were reported, a 6 percent increase compared to the previous week. Deaths, however, have remained relatively flat throughout this summer, with just over 9,800 reported in the week leading up to July 4, five times fewer than the same week last year.
Tedros called on national authorities to step up their efforts in “communicating risk” to the public, and called for a return of “public health social measures like masking, distancing and ventilation.”
Mask mandates and social distancing requirements were largely abandoned earlier this year, although some countries – among them China and South Korea – still require face masks in most public settings.
Nigeria on Tuesday announced that the country had recorded 357 new cases of COVID-19.
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), which announced the new cases, on Tuesday, explained that the fresh infections were confirmed between July 9 and 11.