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World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday said the world is facing the “early stages” of COVID-19 third wave as the virus continues to evolve leading to more transmissible variants.
“Unfortunately, we are now in the early stages of a third wave. The Delta variant is now in more than 111 countries and we expect it to soon be the dominant COVID-19 strain circulating worldwide if it isn’t already,” the WHO chief said.
Calling for careful measures to curb the rapid transmission of the disease, Tedros drew attention to the “increased social mobility” and the “inconsistent use of proven public health measures” that are resulting in rise in daily cases and fatalities.
The World Health Organisation reported there were nearly 3 million coronavirus cases globally last week, a 10% increase that was accompanied by a 3% rise in deaths, reversing a nine-week trend of declining COVID-19 incidence.
In its weekly report issued on Wednesday, the UN health agency says the highest numbers of new cases were from Brazil, India, Indonesia and the United Kingdom. WHO says the easier-to-spread delta variant has now been identified in 111 countries since first being detected in India and it expects the variant to become globally dominant in coming months.
WHO says more transmissible versions of COVID-19 could emerge and coupled with the relaxation and inappropriate use of public health and social measures and increased social mobility and mixing, numerous countries would see higher cases, hospitalisations and deaths.
The organisation acknowledged many countries are now facing considerable pressure to lift all remaining COVID-19 restrictions but warned that improper planning or assessment of the risk of transmission during any gathering or travel provides opportunity for the virus to spread”.
The increased transmissibility associated with the COVID-19’s Delta variant is likely to substantially increase cases and put a greater pressure on healthcare systems, particularly in the contexts of low vaccine coverage, the WHO has warned.
In its COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update, the World Health Organisation said that an overall rise in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant is reported across all WHO regions.
As of July 13, at least 111 countries, territories and areas have reported detection of the Delta variant, and this is expected to continue to increase, becoming the dominant variant globally in the coming months. The increased transmissibility associated with the Delta variant is likely to result in substantial increases in case incidence and greater pressure on healthcare systems, particularly in contexts of low vaccine coverage, it said.
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