Nations heading in wrong direction with Covid-19, warns WHO

The World Health Organization has warned that the Covid-19 pandemic will get "worse and worse" if governments fail to take more decisive action.

At a briefing in Geneva on Monday, Dr Tedros said "mixed messages from leaders" were undermining public trust in attempts to bring the pandemic under control.

Director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said "too many countries [were] headed in the wrong direction", the BBC reported.
He further added that cases were rising where proven measures were not adopted or followed.

Amid the rising tensions between health experts and President Donald Trump, US has seen a rapid increase in the Covid19 cases. The Americans are the current epicentre of the pandemic.

The US, the worst affected country, has over 3.3 million confirmed cases and more than 135,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Also read : Russia claims successful trials of first COVID-19 vaccine

Dr Mike Ryan, the WHO's emergencies director, said that the easing of some lockdown measures in the Americas and the opening up of some areas had led to "intense transmission".
Latin America has confirmed more than 145,000 coronavirus-related deaths, though the number is believed to be higher because of insufficient testing.
Half of the deaths were in Brazil, where President Jair Bolsonaro has opposed strict measures to curb the spread of the virus.
Ryan said closing down large regions would have faced huge economic consequences, but that local lockdowns in specific places might be necessary to mitigate the spread of the virus.
He also urged governments to implement clear and "strong" strategies, adding: "Citizens have to understand, and it has to be easy for them to comply."
"We need to learn to live with this virus," Ryan said, warning that expectations that the virus could be eradicated, or that an effective vaccine could be ready, within months were "unrealistic".
He said it was not yet known whether recovering from the coronavirus would lead to immunity, or, if it did, how long that immunity would last.

To what extent children can transmit the virus, while it appears to be low, remains unknown.

However a separate study released by scientists at King's College London on Monday suggested that immunity to the virus may be short-lived.
Scientists at the college studied 96 people to understand how the body naturally fights off the virus by making antibodies, and how long these last in the weeks and months after recovery.

India COVID-19 cases so far

India’s COVID-19 case tally crosses 9 lakh mark with 28,498 new cases and 553 deaths reported in the last 24 hours. Total positive cases stand at 9,06,752 including 3,11,565 active cases, 5,71,460 cured/discharged/migrated and 23,727 deaths: Ministry of Health. The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients has increased to 63.02%. The recoveries/deaths ratio is 96.01%:3.99% now: Government of India

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