WHO DG Dr Tedros warns that there is no guarantee that the current declining trend of COVID cases and deaths will continue.

GENEVA, Sep 8 (The CONNET) - Pointing out that the pandemic is always evolving, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has gone for an inclusive approach asking the global community to send in ideas to tackle the future disease outbreaks.

“We invite everyone, everywhere to have their say,” said WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressing the global media list night (IST).

He invited the people to submit video statements between September 9 and 13

He asked: “Based on your experience with the COVID-19 pandemic, what do you believe should be addressed at the international level to better protect against future pandemics?”

Dr Tedros remarked that the global decline in reported cases and deaths due to the pandemic is continuing and “this is very encouraging”. “But there is no guarantee these trends will persist. The most dangerous thing is to assume they will,: he cautioned.

The number of weekly reported deaths may have dropped by more than 80% since February, but even so, last week one person died with COVID-19 every 44 seconds, he said and observed that Mmost of those deaths were avoidable.

“You might be tired of hearing me say the pandemic is not over. But I will keep saying it until it is. This virus will not just fade away,” Dr Tedros said.

Many governments are dealing with multiple challenges and competing priorities to support which the WHO will next week publish a set of six short policy briefs, outlining the essential actions that all governments can take to reduce transmission and save lives.

The briefs will cover the essential elements of testing, clinical management, vaccination, infection prevention and control, risk communication and community engagement, and managing the infodemic, he said.

Just as countries have come together before to agree treaties on the threats posed by tobacco, nuclear weapons and climate change, so now countries are coming together to agree on a common approach to the common threat of epidemics and pandemics, he said.

The final outcome will be a legal instrument negotiated by sovereign states and implemented by sovereign states, in accordance with their own laws, Dr Tedros said and observed: this is not a discussion for governments alone.

Pandemics threaten every single person on earth, so it’s important that everyone can have their say on what this landmark international agreement looks like, he added.

WHO DG Dr Tedros warns that there is no guarantee that the current declining trend of COVID cases and deaths will continue.

GENEVA, Sep 8 (The CONNET) - Pointing out that the pandemic is always evolving, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has gone for an inclusive approach asking the global community to send in ideas to tackle the future disease outbreaks.

“We invite everyone, everywhere to have their say,” said WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressing the global media list night (IST).

He invited the people to submit video statements between September 9 and 13

He asked: “Based on your experience with the COVID-19 pandemic, what do you believe should be addressed at the international level to better protect against future pandemics?”

Dr Tedros remarked that the global decline in reported cases and deaths due to the pandemic is continuing and “this is very encouraging”. “But there is no guarantee these trends will persist. The most dangerous thing is to assume they will,: he cautioned.

The number of weekly reported deaths may have dropped by more than 80% since February, but even so, last week one person died with COVID-19 every 44 seconds, he said and observed that Mmost of those deaths were avoidable.

“You might be tired of hearing me say the pandemic is not over. But I will keep saying it until it is. This virus will not just fade away,” Dr Tedros said.

Many governments are dealing with multiple challenges and competing priorities to support which the WHO will next week publish a set of six short policy briefs, outlining the essential actions that all governments can take to reduce transmission and save lives.

The briefs will cover the essential elements of testing, clinical management, vaccination, infection prevention and control, risk communication and community engagement, and managing the infodemic, he said.

Just as countries have come together before to agree treaties on the threats posed by tobacco, nuclear weapons and climate change, so now countries are coming together to agree on a common approach to the common threat of epidemics and pandemics, he said.

The final outcome will be a legal instrument negotiated by sovereign states and implemented by sovereign states, in accordance with their own laws, Dr Tedros said and observed: this is not a discussion for governments alone.

Pandemics threaten every single person on earth, so it’s important that everyone can have their say on what this landmark international agreement looks like, he added.