NEARLY 10,000 PEOPLE DIED FROM COVID-19 DURING HOLIDAYS: WHO

Thu 11 January 2024:

On Wednesday, January 10, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the most common variant of the coronavirus, COVID-19, was the cause of an increase in cases last month during Christmas get-togethers worldwide.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated that December had about 10,000 recorded deaths.

In the meantime, hospital admissions increased by 42% in almost 50 countries throughout the month. The majority of the cases were documented in the Americas and Europe.

“Although 10,000 deaths a month is far less than the peak of the pandemic, this level of preventable deaths is not acceptable,” the WHO chief told reporters from its headquarters in Geneva.

WHO chief said that it was “certain” that cases were on the rise in other places that haven’t been reporting. He also urged the governments to track Covid cases and provide continued access to treatments and vaccines.

According to Tedros, the JN.1 variant was now the most prominent in the world. It is an omicron variant, so current vaccines should still provide some protection.

As quoted by The Associated Press, Maria Van Kerkhove, who is the technical lead at WHO for Covid, cited an increase in respiratory diseases across the globe due to the coronavirus but also flu, rhinovirus and pneumonia.

While talking about increases in Covid in the southern hemisphere — where it’s now summer, she said: “We expect those trends to continue into January through the winter months in the northern hemisphere.”

Van Kerkhove further said this year in particular, “we are seeing co-circulation of many different types of pathogens” as she mentioned coughs, sniffling, fever and fatigue in the winter are nothing new.

Vaccination, wearing masks, and proper ventilation are some of the recommendations given by WHO officials.

Dr Michael Ryan, head of emergencies at WHO, said: “The vaccines may not stop you being infected, but the vaccines are certainly reducing significantly your chance of being hospitalized or dying.”

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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