WHO official: COVID-19 pandemic is ‘far from over’

Shoppers walk down Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, in London, Dec 23, 2021. (FRANK AUGSTEIN / AP)

GENEVA / QUITO / LONDON / OTTAWA – A World Health Organization spokesperson said on Friday that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic was a long way off, citing a rise in cases in its latest weekly data.

The UN health agency has previously said that the acute phase of the pandemic could end this year but it would depend on how quickly we meet its target to vaccinate 70 percent of the population in each country, among other factors.

The WHO has previously said that the acute phase of the pandemic could end this year but it would depend on how quickly we meet its target to vaccinate 70%  of the population in each country, among other factors

Asked by a journalist at a Geneva media briefing about the timing of the pandemic's end, Margaret Harris said it was "far from over". "We are definitely in the middle of the pandemic," she added.

After more than a month of decline, COVID cases started to increase around the world last week, the WHO said.

A combination of factors was causing the increases, including the highly transmissible Omicron variant and its cousin the BA.2 sub-variant, and the lifting of public health and social measures, the WHO said.

Britain

The estimated range of England's COVID-19 reproduction "R" number is between 1.1 and 1.4, the UK Health Security Agency said on Friday, adding that daily cases could be growing each day.

An R number between 1.1 and 1.4 means that for every 10 people infected, they will on average infect between 11 and 14 other people. The previous week's range was 0.8 to 1.1.

The daily growth of infections was +2 percent to +6 percent compared to an estimated range of between -2 percent to +2 percent, last week.

A cyclist pushes his bike across an intersection past temporary fencing as police watch from their car, Feb 23, 2022 in Ottawa. (ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP)

Canada

Canada's chief public health officer on Friday called for more people to get a booster to make the public health system more resilient as the country began to lift COVID-19 restriction measures, such as limits on social gatherings and mask mandates.

Speaking at a press conference, Theresa Tam said that COVID-19 policies may soon shift from "an emphasis on requirements to recommendations" and that it's critically important that more people, especially for those 50 years of age or older, get a booster dose.

"We're in a period of uncertainty where the virus is still undergoing evolution, so getting up to date with vaccines and wearing a mask is really a good idea," Tam said, adding that it would be difficult to expand vaccine mandates to cover a third dose because eligibility for a third shot varies and people with a previous Omicron infection have been told to wait up to three months between a positive test result and getting a third dose.

According to a statement from her office on Friday, recent studies indicated that an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine booster dose could enhance the overall immune response, which can provide longer lasting protection and possibly better effectiveness against variants.

Over 5.2 million eligible Canadians need one or more doses to complete their primary series and many others are eligible to get a booster dose to help improve protection that may have decreased since their second dose and to provide even better protection against severe illness from Omicron, the statement read.

People showing possible symptoms of the novel coronavirus disease COVID-19 queue at the IESS San Francisco General Hospital in Quito, on Jan 17, 2022.
(CRISTINA VEGA RHOR / AFP)

Ecuador

Ecuador's president on Friday announced an end to coronavirus limits on public and private gatherings, but the South American country will continue to require foreign visitors to show proof of vaccinations or a negative COVID-19 test.

All work places, sporting events, shopping centers, theaters and other entertainment venues can all operate from Friday at full capacity, said Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso

President Guillermo Lasso said the government made the decision to end two years of pandemic containment measures because Ecuador has reached its goal of fully vaccinating 85 percent of the population above five years old.

Both new infections and COVID-related deaths have steadily fallen in recent weeks, according to government data.

All work places, sporting events, shopping centers, theaters and other entertainment venues can all operate from Friday at full capacity, said Lasso, speaking from the Pacific port city of Guayaquil.

"Today we have the pandemic under control," he said. "Ecuador is ready to take a new leap into the future."

Lasso's government is maintaining for the time being rules requiring face coverings in all public spaces, including outdoors, as well as indoor spaces.

The president added that some of these masking requirements could be lifted in the coming months.

Meanwhile, visitors to the Andean nation must still show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID PCR test no more than 72 hours before traveling.

According to health ministry data, about 583,000 coronavirus infections have been confirmed over the past two years, along with some 35,000 deaths, which officials describe as the sum of both confirmed and probable fatalities.

Only about 30 percent of Ecuador's adult population have received booster shots and the government only recently began vaccinating three- and four-year-olds. 

EU

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said on Friday that countries should provide free COVID-19 testing for refugees from Ukraine to avoid outbreaks as more than three million people flee their homeland.

Infectious diseases and conflict often go hand-in-hand, and the risk of infections spreading could be further exacerbated as COVID vaccination rates in Ukraine have been low overall at 35 percent versus the EU average of 71.7 percent.

Those fleeing the country should be offered a full course of COVID-19 vaccines, and booster doses, if they do not have proof of prior inoculation, with an emphasis on those at greater risk of severe COVID-19, the ECDC said.

Some Ukrainian refugees have fled to nearby countries in Europe such as Poland, Slovakia, Romania while others are looking to move further west.

Refugee reception centers are known to be at a greater risk of disease outbreaks. The ECDC said countries should test at those centers, and try to isolate those displaying symptoms.

President Guillermo Lasso

Previous post Omicron outbreak claims over 5,000 lives
Next post 4 people killed in US military aircraft crash in Norway