The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for continued mask-wearing and social distancing to avoid COVID-19 infection, these recommendations are linked to an upward trend in many countries where coronavirus cases have been observed, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
“Many countries have seen an increase in respiratory illnesses caused by COVID-19, influenza and other pathogens for several weeks and this trend is expected to continue after the recent holidays,” he wrote on social media X.
Gebreyesus called for mandatory testing and seeking medical attention if necessary, as treatment for COVID-19 can prevent severe illness and death.
He also mentioned the need to use masks, ventilation and social distancing to reduce the risk of infection. In addition, recalled COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations.
In turn, governments need to ensure access to reliable tests, treatment and vaccines, especially for those most at risk of severe infection.
“Continue surveillance, sequencing and reporting to track the evolution of the COVID-19 virus, and clearly communicate risks and risk reduction measures to your population,” the WHO chief emphasized.
According to him, these recommendations provide more information on what governments need to do to combat the ongoing global COVID-19 threats.
A new sub-variant of the Omicron coronavirus strain, JN.1, has reportedly been discovered in many countries around the world, including China, India, the UK and the US, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified it as a “variant of interest” because of “its rapid spread,” the BBC reported Wednesday.
The incidence of coronavirus in the world over the past week continued to decline, while mortality increased by 4%, follows from the weekly epidemiological bulletin of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Between June 6 and 12, the incidence of coronavirus decreased in all regions except the Eastern Mediterranean region, where the incidence increased by 58%, America (by 13%) and Southeast Asia (by 33%). The largest decline in cases was seen in the Western Pacific and Europe, at 8%.
In just a week, more than 3.2 million cases of COVID-19 were detected worldwide. Coronavirus deaths have decreased or remained unchanged in all regions except the Western Pacific, where deaths rose by 17%, and the Americas (21%). Mortality fell the most in the Eastern Mediterranean (by 35%). In general, more than 8.7 thousand deaths caused by COVID-19 were recorded worldwide during the week.
Over the entire period of the pandemic, about 535 million cases of coronavirus infection and more than 6.3 million deaths from the consequences of the disease have been detected in the world.
Ukraine has signed a two-year cooperation agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO) online, Minister of Health Maksym Stepanov has said.
“This agreement defines a clear ‘roadmap’ for our further joint work, in particular, regarding the solution of such challenges of our time as the still excessively high incidence of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and tuberculosis in Ukraine. After all, the fight against the pandemic does not stop our efforts to implement strategic and qualitative changes in the health care system,” the minister wrote on his Facebook page.
Due to coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the agreement was signed online simultaneously in Kyiv and Copenhagen.
Pharmacies receive UAH 226 mln from National Health Service under reimbursement program for July-September.
