WHO Asks People Not To Despair As COVID-19 Cases Break 20 Million Mark

The World Health Organization (WHO) urged people not to despair despite the rise in COVID-19 cases across the globe. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the world should not lose hope, even as the pandemic chalked up another grim milestone on Tuesday.

On Aug. 11, the world surpassed 20 million recorded cases of the new coronavirus around the world. A tally by the U.S.-based John Hopkins University revealed that 20,090,541 cases and 736,000 deaths had been recorded as of Tuesday afternoon. Experts expect the death toll to surpass 750,000 in a few days as the pandemic rages on.

After the first coronavirus case was reported in Wuhan, China, it took almost six months to reach 10 million cases of COVID-19 around the world. However, it took only 43 days to double the number to 20 million.

Despite that, WHO officials say there is no reason to despair. “Behind these statistics is a great deal of pain and suffering,” said Ghebreyesus. “But I want to be clear: there are green shoots of hope. It’s never too late to turn the outbreak around,” he added.

Ghebreyesus also gave examples of nations that had successfully won their fight against COVID-19, including Rwanda and New Zealand. On Monday, New Zealand announced plans to open a virus-free travel bubble with Cook Islands.

Meanwhile, the U.S. remains the world’s worst-hit country with 163m461 deaths and 5,094,394 cases. The tally came as U.S. president Donald Trump was accused of defying the constitution by extending a virus relief package, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described as “unconstitutional.” Trump announced the package on Saturday following a failed COVID-19 negotiation between Republicans and Democrats.

As of today, 165 coronavirus vaccines are being developed in the hopes of fighting the pandemic. Six of these vaccine candidates are already on Phase 3 of clinical evaluations.

In a statement, however, WHO’s emergencies director Michael Ryan warned that the coronavirus vaccine would only be part of the answer. “You’ve got to be able to deliver that vaccine to a population that wants and demands to have that vaccine,” he said.