WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Says Coronavirus Pandemic Is Far From Over, Unless...

Despite stringent lockdown measures and social distancing exercises being practiced, a burning question remains: Are we making any progress towards combating the novel coronavirus?

While vaccine trials are underway, and experts are diving deep to find ways to flatten the curve; World Health Organization (WHO) recently dropped a bitter truth: “The pandemic is far from over,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization Director-General at a news conference.

Ghebreyesus ascertained that the health organization continues to be concerned over the rising numbers and gnawing death toll in countries like Europe, Latin America, Africa, and some Asian countries. “As in all regions, cases and deaths are underreported in many countries in these regions, because of low testing capacity,” he added.

Despite the assumptions, there was a positive takeaway from his speech. Ghebreyesus focussed on how being united in this battle was crucial. “This virus will not be defeated if we are not united, if we are not united, the virus will exploit the cracks between us and continue to create havoc. Lives will be lost,” he said.

At present, amid talks of easing down lockdown restrictions to get the economies of countries up and moving, there’s still a long way to go before the numbers see a downward slope. The COVID-19 outbreak has claimed over 210,000 lives and counting worldwide while leaving approximately 3 million people infected.

The United States of America tops the list of countries that have been worst hit by the global health crisis. Over 56,000 lives have been lost to the disease, which is more than a quarter of the total deaths in the coronavirus scare. President Donald Trump has received severe flak in the past for downplaying the severity of the issue.

Trump’s staunch faith in Chloroquine as a potential treatment for the viral illness has met with stiff opposition. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson who was tested positive recently made headlines after reportedly being in a tearing hurry to get back to work, conveniently overlooking medical advice about taking it easy after recuperating.

Speculations are rife that Europe will consider easing some restrictions—Switzerland plans on reopening businesses later this week, while Italy will lift some stringent lockdown measures on May 4.