The world must step up its efforts to combat Covid-19 – and do not let countries down, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist warned on Monday as coronavirus cases worldwide increased.
“We are in a very risky period,” said Dr. Soumya Swaminathan of the World Health Organization said. “We have to double down, this is not the time to leave.”
The WHO warned last week that new Covid-19 cases were on the rise worldwide after six consecutive weeks of decline. According to the health agency, more than 2.6 million new cases were reported in the last week of February, up 7% from the previous week.
It added that the eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, Europe and America each rose between 6% and 14%.
Although the vaccines are coming up for us in the country, we cannot guard.
Julie Morita
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
“It’s partly due to the fatigue of the closure, you know. It’s due to people … who may become more comfortable because they think vaccines are on the way,” Swaminathan told Squawk Box Asia on Monday. told CNBC. New variants could also play a role, she added.
“We have to … do everything we know to keep these viruses under control, sustain the transmission until we have enough vaccines,” she said, warning that healthcare systems could be overloaded again.
“Health workers around the world have been exhausted, they have been fighting it for over a year now,” she added.
Other health experts also said it was not the time to become complacent.
Julie Morita, executive vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said it was important to realize that infections, hospitalizations and deaths were still high, even as they fell from their peaks in the US.
“It’s still necessary for us to wear our masks, socialize, avoid large crowds while being vaccinated,” she told CNBC’s Street Signs Asia on Monday.
“Although the vaccines are coming up for us in the country, we cannot disappoint,” she said. “It’s way too early to relax.”