Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), has warned countries that the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic is far from over.
The top UN official stated that reports of fewer cases and deaths do not indicate the end of the pandemic.
Ghebreyesus spoke at the opening of the World Health Assembly on Sunday in Geneva.
The Assembly, the WHO’s decision-making body, has 194 member countries.
Ghebreyesus warned health ministers not to relax at the meeting, the first in person since 2019.
“Is COVID-19 over? No. I know that’s not the message you want to hear, and it’s definitely not the message I want to deliver,” he said.
The DG expressed concern about increasing cases in nearly 70 countries in all regions with testing rates reduced.
Ghebreyesus added that reported deaths are also rising in Africa, the continent with the lowest vaccination coverage.
“It’s not over anywhere until it’s over everywhere. Only 57 countries have vaccinated 70 percent of their population, almost all of them high-income countries,” he noted.