The Delta Covid-19 strain has spread to more than 111 countries now, which means that the world is in the early stages of the third wave of the pandemic. The third wave approaches the world due to the new Delta strain of the virus.
This was stated byTedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization.
“But as increasing vaccination rates in Europe and North America started to take effect, we saw sustained declines in cases and deaths. Unfortunately, those trends have now reversed, and we are now in the early stages of a third wave. Last week marked the fourth consecutive week of increasing cases of COVID-19 globally, with increases recorded in all but one of WHO’s six regions,” WHO Director-General stated.
According to the WHO Director-General, the Delta variant is now in more than 111 countries and the WHO expects it to soon be the dominant COVID-19 strain circulating worldwide.
“The Delta variant is one of the main drivers of the current increase in transmission, fuelled by increased social mixing and mobility, and inconsistent use of proven public health and social measures,” he said.
In addition, Gebreyesus complained about the disproportional distribution of vaccines.
“At the same time, we continue to see a shocking disparity in the global distribution of vaccines, and unequal access to life-saving tools. This inequity has created a two-track pandemic: countries with the greatest access to vaccines are lifting restrictions and reopening their societies, although great risks remain for unvaccinated groups. Meanwhile, lack of access to vaccines leaves most of the world’s population susceptible to infection, and at the mercy of the virus,” WHO Director-General stated.
To conclude, Gebreyesus said the WHO continues to look for advice on the key challenges countries still face, and how to overcome them, guided as always by the International Health Regulations.