The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned world leaders that they will need to manage around the coronavirus for the foreseeable future.
The organisation says it is concerned about the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in Africa, Central and South America as well as Eastern Europe.
WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressed their daily briefing on Wednesday night in Geneva.
Ghebreyesus says, “Make no mistake; we have a long way to go. This virus will be with us for a long time, there is no questions that stay at home orders and other physical distancing measures have successfully suppressed transmission in many countries but this virus remains extremely dangerous.”
In the video below, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addresses a media briefing:
WHO urges US to reconsider funding
Ghebreyesus says that he hopes the Trump administration would reconsider its suspension of funding, but that his main focus was on ending the pandemic and saving lives.
There were “worrying upward trends” in early pandemic in parts of Africa and central and South America, Ghebreyesus says.
He says, “Most countries are still in the early stages of their pandemics and some that were affected early in the pandemic are starting to see a resurgence in cases.”
“Make no mistake we have a long way to go. This virus will be with us for a long time,” he adds, while noting that epidemics in Western Europe appear to be stabilising or declining.
US President Donald Trump last week criticised the WHO’s handling of the pandemic and announced he was suspending funding to the UN agency.
In the video below, the WHO says they regret Donald Trump’s decision to halt funding:
