WHO director-general says pandemic "still accelerating"

Jun 22, 2020 12:44 2 min read (Updated: Jun 22, 2020 14:50)

In an online conference this morning, World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus affirmed that the coronavirus pandemic is “still accelerating” and that its effects will be felt for “decades to come.”

Speaking at an online conference set up by authorities in Dubai, the WHO head warned about the lack of global solidarity and leadership to confront the crisis. “We cannot defeat this pandemic with a divided world (…) none of us is safe until all of us are safe,” he said.

While Europe eases lockdown measures and sees an alleviation of Covid-19 cases and deaths, the situation is only getting worse in the Americas and in parts of Asia. In Brazil, cases have surpassed the one-million mark and deaths now stand at over 50,000 — making the Covid-19 pandemic deadlier than the Spanish Flu and HIV/Aids epidemics in Brazil, and claiming more lives than any war in the country.