The World Health Organization (WHO) said on 16 March that it was “very concerned” about the recent surge in new cases of crowns in some countries, particularly in Europe and the Americas.
Speaking at a press conference that day, WHO Director-General Tan Desai said: “We are now very concerned about the surge in some countries. Particularly in Europe and the Americas, health workers and health systems are being pushed to the brink of collapse.”
He warned that countries that allow the virus to spread unchecked “are playing with fire”, which could lead to more unnecessary death and suffering, a significant number of people suffering the long-term effects of the new coronavirus, extreme mental health stress on health workers in particular, and a surge of cases that places a heavy burden on the health systems of many countries.
Tandse said there is no excuse for inaction on the epidemic. “My message is clear: act quickly, act immediately, act decisively.” WHO and partners are working with governments and health facility leaders to ensure that sick health workers are provided with medical care, sufficient beds are available for newly crowned patients, basic health services are sustained, and masks, gloves and other protective gear are in adequate supply.
According to the latest data on the WHO website, as of 14:59 CET (21:59 GMT) on 16 March, the cumulative number of confirmed cases of new crowns reported to the WHO Americas and Europe Regions reached 23,190,072 and 15,266,390 respectively, of which 679,201 and 344,459 were fatal cases. Together, these two regions reported more than 70 per cent of confirmed cases and more than 77 per cent of deaths globally.
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