On Thursday, The World Health Organization is holding a press conference to give updates to the world on the current situation of the global health crisis. The coronavirus which has infected over 20 million people all over the globe has caused much distress in the population.
In the US alone there are more than 5 million coronavirus cases thus far. Since the month of May, this Wednesday it recorded one of the deadliest days in the pandemic with as many as 1,500 deaths from coronavirus.
According to Johns Hopkins University data, Brazil, Mexico, and the U.S lead in terms of the number of cases as one of the highest in the world.
Carissa Etienne is the director of the Pan American Health Organization and is also the regional director of the World Health Organization for the Americas. She remarked in a briefing earlier this Tuesday that the number of infected cases makes it clear that the coronavirus is still dominating America greatly.
Meanwhile in Europe infections are also rising dangerously high. While most of Europe battles rising coronavirus cases they are also suffering a burning heatwave with temperatures rising above 35 degrees Celsius (95 F)
Despite health warnings from the experts, people flocked to the beaches during the weekend in an attempt to ease the effects of the scorching weather.
In Paris, children aged 11 and above are now obligated to wear face coverings in areas that are crowded or have access to tourists.
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These spots include the banks of the River Seine and above 100 streets in the country that attract tourists from around the globe every year.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus however offers hope saying “Behind these statistics is a great deal of pain and suffering… But I want to be clear: there are green shoots of hope,”
He gave examples of countries that have despite struggling with the terrible viral outbreaks have pulled through with strength and turned their crisis around. He reminded how countries like Rwanda and New Zealand are great examples to look upon as they begin to open what they call a virus-less travel bubble with the Cook Islands.
Currently, most of the world is suffering a great crisis as economies continue to crash; all nations are banking their hopes on the development of vaccines.
An overview from the WHO says 165 potential vaccines are underway all around the globe and that exactly six vaccines are almost reaching phase 3 of clinical evaluation.
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Michael Ryan is the emergency director for WHO. He warns however that getting the vaccine won’t mean an end for the problems to come because just as diseases like polio and measles have not been completely eradicated from the world, it is a possibility that the same could happen with the current crisis.
He says the delivery of the vaccine is an important concern, if the vaccine doesn’t reach every part of the population, the disease will inevitably persist. This means that controlling the coronavirus cases will require more than just a vaccine but will also need governments to ensure it reaches each individual of their country.