Mortality from Covid-19 dropped to lowest level: WHO

Belkis Roja shows her vaccination card after getting a dose of the Pfizer vaccine during its launch for pregnant women in Nicaragua on Wednesday. Pic/AFP

The number of weekly coronavirus deaths worldwide continues to decline and is now at its lowest level in nearly a year. This was announced on Wednesday at a briefing in Geneva by the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, quoted by TASS. "The number of reported deaths from Covid-19 continues to decline and is now at its lowest level in nearly a year," he said.

"However, this number is still unacceptably high - almost 50 thousand cases per week, and the real number is undoubtedly even higher," said the head of the WHO. "Mortality is declining in all regions except Europe, where several countries are facing new waves of disease and death," Gebreyesus said, stressing that mortality is highest in countries and populations that "have the least access." to vaccines against Covid-19'.

China warns about ‘manipulation' of WHO virus probe

China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday warned against what it called possible ‘political manipulation' of a renewed probe by the World Health Organization into the origins of the coronavirus, while saying it would support the international body's efforts. The WHO on Wednesday released a proposed list of 25 experts to advise it on next steps in the search for the virus' origins after its earlier efforts were attacked for going too easy on China, where first human cases were detected in late 2019.

Indian in WHO's scientific advisory group

Dr Raman Gangakhedkar, a leading Indian epidemiologist, has been named to an expert group launched by the WHO that will examine origins of emerging and re-emerging pathogens of epidemic and pandemic potential, including SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. Gangakhedkar, former head of epidemiology and communicable diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research, is the Dr C.G. Pandit National Chair at the ICMR.

3,64,373
No. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours

23,85,21,855
Total no. of cases worldwide

48,63,818
Total no. of deaths worldwide

Source: WHO/Johns Hopkins

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