Geneva: The world is in the “early stages” of the third wave of COVID-19 amid a surge in Delta variant cases, World Health Organisation (WHO) Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned.
“Unfortunately… we are now in the early stages of a third wave,” Tedros told the media on Wednesday.
The WHO chief also said the spread of the Delta variant, along with increased social mobility and the inconsistent use of proven public health measures, is driving an increase in both case numbers and deaths.
Recalling the sustained decline in COVID-19 cases and deaths that was being driven, in recent months, by increasing vaccination rates in Europe and North America, he sounded alarms over the fresh reversal of that positive trend, reported UN News.
Tedros added that the virus is continuing to evolve, resulting in more transmissible variants.
“The Delta variant is now in more than 111 countries and we expect it to soon be the dominant COVID-19 strain circulating worldwide if it isn’t already,” he said.
Last week marked the fourth consecutive week of rising cases of COVID-19 globally, with increases recorded in all but one of WHO’s six regions. Deaths are also rising again, after 10 weeks of steady decline.
