The coronavirus (COVID-19) is spreading faster, as there are now over 330,000 confirmed cases worldwide, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) figures has shown.
“More than 300,000 cases of COVID-19 have now been reported to WHO, from almost every country in the world. That’s heartbreaking.
“The pandemic is accelerating. It took 67 days from the first reported case to reach the first 100,000 cases, 11 days for the second 100,000 cases and just 4 days for the third 100,000 cases. You can see how the virus is accelerating.
“But we’re not prisoners to statistics. We’re not helpless bystanders. We can change the trajectory of this pandemic.
“Numbers matter, because they’re not just numbers. They’re people, whose lives and families have been turned upside down. But what matters most is what we do,” WHO’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said at a press conference in Geneva, which was monitored, on Monday.
Daily Trust reports that as at 8:05pm (Nigerian time) on Monday, March 23, there are 332,935 confirmed cases worldwide, with 14,510 deaths recorded in 190 countries, areas or territories.
He further noted that the number of infections among doctors and healthcare givers are becoming alarming.
“When the people who take care of the sick become ill themselves, many more people will die,’’ Tedros said.
He added: “Asking people to stay at home and other physical distancing measures are an important way of slowing down the spread of the virus and buying time – but they are defensive measures.
“To win, we need to attack the virus with aggressive and targeted tactics – testing every suspected case, isolating and caring for every confirmed case, and tracing and quarantining every close contact.
“Solving this problem requires political commitment and political coordination at the global level.
“This week, I will be addressing heads of state and government from the G20 countries. Among other issues, I will be asking them to work together to increase production, avoid export bans and ensure equity of distribution, on the basis of need.
“We need unity in the G20 countries, who have more than 80% of global GDP. Political commitment at the G20 means strong solidarity that can help us to move forward and fight this pandemic in the strongest way possible.
“The most important ask to G20 leaders is solidarity, to act as one, because they have the biggest stake in the world, in all respects.”
Tedros equally lauded many efforts by ‘partners’ toward producing vaccine for the virus.
“We also recognize that there is a desperate need for effective therapeutics. There is currently no treatment that has been proven to be effective against COVID-19. It’s great to see the level of energy now being directed to research against COVID-19,” the WHO chief said.
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