New Delhi: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday warned against the “devastating outbreaks” caused by the Delta Variant of Covid-19 as he said that the newest strain spreading at a scorching pace, posing as a threat across the globe.
“Last week marked the fourth consecutive week of increasing cases of Covid-19 globally,” Tedros said at a virtual press conference from Geneva, adding that “after ten weeks of declines, deaths are increasing again.”
First detected in India in October 2020, the Delta strain of the virus is responsible for South Asian country’s deadly second wave which thrashed the overall health infrastructure of the country.
“The Delta variant is ripping around the world at a scorching pace, driving a new spike in cases and deaths,” the WHO chief said.
“The current collective strategy reminds me of a firefighting team taking on a forest blaze,” he said. “Hosing down part of it might reduce the flames in one area, but while it’s smoldering anywhere, sparks will eventually travel and grow again into a rolling furnace.”
Tedros reiterated his call on governments to share vaccines, adding that “the world should battle together to put out this pandemic inferno everywhere.”
Meanwhile, the overall global Covid-19 caseload has topped 187 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 4.03 million and vaccinations soared to over 3.46 billion, according to the Johns Hopkins University
Earlier, the WHO chief had stated that Covid-19 numbers being reported are understated and the actual numbers are much more frightening.
