Paramedics at Bochnia Hospital are wearing protective equipment while transporting a patient suffering from COVID-19 to a local hospital on March 17, 2021 in Bochnia, Poland.
Omar Marques | Anadolu Agency Getty Images
The World Health Organization said Monday that the trajectory of the coronavirus pandemic is now “growing exponentially,” with more than 4.4 million new cases of Covid-19 reported in the past week.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the agency’s chief technical officer for Covid-19, said “we are at a critical juncture in the pandemic,” as some countries ease easing restrictions, even though new cases a week are more than eight times greater than they are now. year.
“This is not the situation we want to be in for 16 months in a pandemic in which we have proven control measures. It is time for everyone to take stock and check what we need to do,” she said. he said during a press briefing. “Vaccines and vaccinations come online, but they are not yet here in every part of the world.”
Covid-19 cases rose 9 percent globally last week – the seventh consecutive weekly increase – and deaths rose 5 percent, she said, urging governments to support their citizens in implementing pandemic security measures. .
Last month, WHO officials warned of a steady rise in Covid-19 cases and deaths, urging people to stick to masked warrants and social distance rules as the world enters a critical phase of the pandemic.
The virus is “stronger, faster” with the emergence of new variants that spread more easily and are more deadly than the original wild strain of the virus, said Dr. Mike Ryan, head of the WHO health emergency program, on 31 March. “We are all fighting,” and we are tired of restrictive blockades, he said.
India has overtaken Brazil as the second worst infected country behind the United States, after Covid-19 cases continued to grow in India, where a double-mutant variant appeared, researchers say could be more contagious and spread fast.
In the US, B.1.1.7, the highly contagious variant of coronavirus first identified in the UK is now the most common circulating strain, said the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, last week.
Hospitals are also seeing an increase in the number of young people admitted, she said.
Walensky said the United States needs to accelerate its vaccination efforts, which average an average of about 3.1 million photos a day. “We must continue to vaccinate as many Americans as possible every day,” Walensky said, adding that it will cause new cases and deaths.
The WHO urged the public and world leaders to continue to practice safety measures, including social distancing, wearing masks, washing hands and avoiding crowded spaces.