CORONAVIRUS 10 Times more deadly than the 2009 Swine flu pandemic
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said covid 19 is10 times more deadly than the 2009 Swine flu pandemic
At a time when the global death toll from coronavirus jumped to 114,539, World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that vaccine is needed to fully halt the transmission of the virus.
"We know that COVID-19 spreads fast, and we know that it is deadly, 10 times more deadly than the 2009 Swine flu pandemic," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a virtual briefing from Geneva.
The director-general said that globalisation meant that COVID-19 could re-emerge yet again, implying that "ultimately, the development and delivery of a safe and effective vaccine will be needed to fully interrupt transmission
Meanwhile, at least 114,539 people have died so far from coronavirus in 193 countries and territories, according to an AFP tally. More than 1,853,300 have tested positive for coronavirus globally, as per the data.
"It is critical that we ensure these countries are well equipped to detect, test, isolate and treat COVID-19 cases, and identify contacts."
He urged governments to implement social welfare measures to ensure that vulnerable people have access to food during the crisis and called for debt relief for poorer states.
"Many developing countries will struggle to implement social welfare programs of this nature. For those countries, debt relief is essential to enable them to take care of their people and avoid economic collapse," said Tedros.
He said there were many "unknowns" about how COVID-19 will behave, as it is the "first-ever coronavirus pandemic in the world".
A safe vaccine is thought to be 12 to 18 months away, while WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan stressed "There is no therapy that has been proven to be effective in the treatment of COVID-19."As regards the use of face masks, the WHO recommends that those people who are infected and health workers who care for them should use medical masks
