Cases of covid-19 have doubled around the world in last six weeks, warns WHO
10 July 2020, 06:29
The World Health Organisation has warned the coronavirus pandemic has still not reached its peak.
The director general of the WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the virus is not under control "in most of the world" and is in fact "getting worse".
His stark message comes as quarantine rules for people returning to or visiting the UK from certain countries are relaxed from Friday.
Dr Ghebreyesus said the total number of cases of coronavirus worldwide has doubled in the last six weeks.
Speaking at the member state briefing on the Covid-19 pandemic evaluation, he said: "The virus has upended health systems in some of the world's wealthiest nations, while some countries that have mounted a successful response have been of modest means.
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"We know that when countries take a comprehensive approach based on fundamental public health measures - such as find, isolate, test and treat cases, and trace and quarantine contacts - the outbreak can be brought under control.
"But in most of the world the virus is not under control. It is getting worse.
"More than 11.8 million cases of Covid-19 have now been reported to WHO. More than 544,000 lives have been lost.
"And the pandemic is still accelerating. The total number of cases has doubled in the last six weeks."
