Globally, there have been more cases of Covid-19 reported in the last two weeks than during the first six months of the pandemic, the director-general of the World Health Organization said during a news briefing in Geneva on Monday.
“More cases of Covid-19 have been reported globally in the past two weeks than during the first six months of the pandemic,” WHO’s Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “India and Brazil account for more than half of last week’s cases. But there are many other countries all over the world that face a very fragile situation.”
WHO is providing equipment and supplies, such as oxygen concentrators, to India as well as providing advice on how to provide care at home for people who are unable to find hospital beds for patients.
The WHO Foundation is also raising funds to support the need for oxygen and related supplies globally, he said.
Tedros called upon everyone to continue following WHO and national advice around public health safety measures.
“What’s happening in India and Brazil could happen elsewhere unless we all take these public health precautions that WHO has been calling for since the beginning of the pandemic,” Tedros said. “Vaccines are part of the answer, but they are not the only answer.”
