One day the pandemic will be behind us, but psychological scars will remain: WHO chief

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday said "one day the COVID-19 pandemic will be behind us."

He was addressing the 74th World Health Assembly.

"But the psychological scars will remain for those who have lost loved ones, who have been stretched beyond breaking point and the millions of people of all ages confronted with months of loneliness and isolation," he further said.

"And we will still face the same vulnerabilities that allowed a small outbreak to become a global pandemic", he added.

Talking about the governments' handling the pandemic he said: "The safety of the Earth’s people cannot rely solely on the goodwill of governments. Every government is responsible for, & accountable to, its people. But the member States can only truly keep their people safe if they are accountable to each other at the global level".

Emphasising a Pandemic treaty and joint action he said that: "A Pandemic Treaty would foster improved sharing, trust and accountability, and provide the solid foundation on which to build other mechanisms for global health security".

In closing comments to the WHO’s annual week-long high-level assembly, Tedros said that a potential international treaty will be discussed in a special session of WHO members in November.