While experts are expected in China this weekend for an exploratory mission on the origins of the new coronavirus, the World Health Organization assured on Friday that it is still possible to bring the epidemic of Covid-19 under control , even though the number of cases has “more than doubled in the past six weeks”.
The number of Covid-19 cases has recently exploded, but we can “still” control the situation. We act very quickly to control the disease, World Health Organization told on Friday.
“Only aggressive action combined with national unity and global solidarity can reverse the trajectory of the pandemic” , in Geneva said the Director General of the WHO , Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, that “there are many examples around the world have shown that even if the epidemic is very intense, it can still be brought under control.”
And this although, he underlined, the contaminations have “more than doubled in the last six weeks” . If cases come back, we need to “act quickly,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, another WHO official. Containment of entire countries should be avoided, said one of his colleagues, Michael Ryan, warning against “blind” deconfinement without surveillance.
Exploratory mission to China
The pandemic has killed more than 556,000 people from 12.3 million total cases since the WHO official in China reported the emergency of the disease in late December 2019, according to a report prepared on Friday from official sources.
The United States has welcomed the investigation launched by the WHO into the origins of the virus in China, where two experts from the organization are expected in the coming hours for an exploratory mission.
“We welcome the WHO investigation into the origins of the new coronavirus in China” US ambassador to Geneva in Andrew Andrew Bremberg told reporters.
“We view this scientific investigation as a necessary step to have a complete and transparent understanding of how this virus has spread around the world,” he added. WHO takes this step of investigation after USA wants a withdrawal from the organization.
Record of new cases in the United States
The United States, the most affected country with more than 133,000 deaths and 3.18 million people affected, recorded Thursday more than 63,000 new cases of additional coronavirus in 24 hours with 774 deaths.
“When we compare ourselves to other countries, I don’t think you can say that we were doing well. This just isn’t the case, “said Anthony Fauci, the United States’ top infectious disease expert.
The immunologist has been sounding the alarm for days in the face of the increase in the number of new cases in the south and in the west, denouncing too hasty deconfinements and the carelessness of the Americans.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile tweeted “The reason we have so many cases, compared to other countries that are no better than us by far, is that we are testing a lot more and better”.
Ignoring the warnings, the American president visited Florida, one of the current hotbeds of Covid-19, on Friday, while postponing a new electoral meeting scheduled for Saturday in New Hampshire. Beijing “could have stopped” the epidemic but “did not do it,” he said again.
Over 70,000 dead in Brazil
The Covid-19 also continues to wreak havoc in Latin America, where it reaches some of its leaders.
In Bolivia, interim president Jeanine Añez, a candidate in the September presidential election, announced Thursday that she was infected in this disease.
Bolivia, a country of 11 million inhabitants, has 44,113 affected and 1,638 deaths, according to the official report released on Friday. In Venezuela, the President of the National Constituent Assembly and number two of the presidential party PSUV, Diosdado Cabello, announced Thursday that he has contracted Covid-19. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said he is also infected on Tuesday.
Brazil is the most affected Latin American country and the second in the world. He crossed the 70,000 dead mark on Friday after recording 1,214 additional deaths in the previous 24 hours. Contaminations amount to more than 1.8 million cases.
Resurgences
If the virus has flowed elsewhere in the world, resurgence has been recorded.
Consequently, in Australia, the five million inhabitants of Melbourne were placed in confinement for six weeks, like the population of Uzbekistan.
Hong Kong has announced the closure of all of its schools from Monday onwards due to an “exponential increase” in contamination and Israel has counted some 1,500 new cases in 24 hours.
According to the Russian statistics agency, at least 7,444 people died of Covid-19 in May in Russia, more than twice the figure so far provided by the authorities.
New outbreaks have also appeared in Europe, the most bereaved continent with more than 200,000 deaths (for 2.8 million cases), where the situation however seems to be under control for the moment.
Italy is thus considering extending the state of emergency, which is due to expire on July 31, and, in particular following the increase in the number of cases in the neighboring Balkan countries, Greece has decided to strengthen controls at its land borders.
In France, where the 30,000 dead mark was crossed on Friday , Prime Minister Jean Castex “asked all the actors to wear the mask more and more to protect us as well as possible from a possible second wave” .
This virus is spread all over the world and all needs to take more precautions than before as cases increasing. Stay Home! Stay Safe!
