'Pandemic is speeding up', warns WHO chief as reinfections surface globally

As countries report fresh cases of coronavirus, and lockdown are being reinforced in many parts of the world, the World Health Organization chief has given another warning.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO chief recently said that the coronavirus pandemic is not even close to being over.

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China had alerted the WHO six months ago of a novel respiratory infection, he said.

“The grim milestones of 10 million confirmed infections and 500,000 deaths had been reached”, the chief added.

"Most people remain susceptible, the virus still has a lot of room to move," he said.

"We all want this to be over. We all want to get on with our lives. But the hard reality is that this is not even close to being over. Although many countries have made some progress globally, the pandemic is actually speeding up”, Ghebreyesus said.

Mike Ryan, the head of WHO’s emergencies programme, speaking at the same briefing said that a lot of progress has been made in finding a “safe and effective vaccine” against COVID-19. However, he added that there was no guarantee of it succeeding.

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Ryan further suggested that countries currently fighting it can control it by improving the testing, isolation, and contact tracing. He also complimented South Korea, Japan, and Germany for their "comprehensive, sustained strategy" against the virus.

Later this week, the WHO will meet to assess the progress of coronavirus research, and its results.