New York: But for China, the world is breathing easy on COVID-19 and preparing for a joyous Christmas after a gap of three years.
However, experts at World Health Organization (WHO) have sounded a warning for governments across the world.
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove and Dr Mike Ryan lamented that COVID-19 sequencing around the world has dropped 90% from the start of this year.
“This will bite us next year,” believe Van Kerkhove, WHO’s COVID-19 Technical Lead, and Dr Ryan, Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme.
Dr Van Kerkhove said COVID-19 has not settled into niche and will continue to evolve.
She added the notion that COVID will only become mild going ahead is false.
Genomic sequencing allows scientists to classify a virus as a particular variant and determine its lineage. Genomic surveillance has been an important tool in controlling the virus throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
