The world must prepare for the next pandemic, according to the head of the World Health Organization (WHO).
“This will not be the last pandemic,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press conference on Monday, “but when the next pandemic comes, the world must be ready, more ready than it was this time.”
Ghebreyesus called on nations to invest in their health systems to gear up for the next pandemic.
He added that too many countries had not paid attention to their basic public health systems in recent years and asked governments to “invest in public health as an investment in a healthier and safer future.”
“Public health is the foundation of social, economic, and political stability. That means investing in population-based services for preventing, detecting, and responding to diseases,” he said. “I call on all countries to invest in public health, and especially primary health care.”
The latest weekly statistics from WHO showed that there are about 27 million Covid-19 cases and 900,000 deaths. The Johns Hopkins University data revealed that the number of Covid-19 cases to date is 27.3 million and the number of deaths is at 892,714.
More than 1.8 million new cases and 37,000 new deaths were noted during the week ending September 6, according to the WHO.
Moreover, the WHO said the Southeast Asia region continued to report the highest increase in new Covid-19 infections in the past week, compared to the previous week, with over 600,000 new cases recorded.
New reported cases also surged in Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, but both new infections and deaths fell in the African and Western Pacific regions compared with the previous week.
The WHO noted that Covid-19 cases in the Americas increased by 1%, and deaths dropped by 4%, but the region “continues to carry the highest burden of the disease globally, accounting for nearly half of all new cases reported in the past seven days.”
The organization also reminds countries to continue observing health protocols to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Some of the health protocols are limiting public gatherings and keeping the vulnerable groups protected as they reopen businesses and services.
“The more control countries have over the virus, the more they can open up. Opening up without having control is a recipe for disaster,” Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a separate virtual news briefing from the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. “No country can just pretend the pandemic is over.”
Tedros mentioned the “four essential things that all countries, communities and individuals must focus on to take control.” According to him, countries must “prevent amplifying events,” such as gatherings at stadiums, nightclubs, and worship sites. He noted that countries and people can come up with “creative ways” to be social.
He noted that countries must prevent more deaths by protecting vulnerable people. These include older people, people with health conditions, and essential workers. He added observing health protocols will help save lives and ease the burden on health systems.
The WHO official said “individuals must play their part” by wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and washing their hands. He believes that governments can focus on testing, contact tracing, and isolating to avoid imposing stay-at-home orders.
