WHO chief says Covid-19 infection rate approaching highest of pandemic so far

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

The number of new Covid-19 cases per week has nearly doubled globally over the past two months, approaching the highest rate seen so far during the pandemic, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. ‘Cases and deaths are continuing to increase at worrying rates,’ Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a briefing focused on Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the western Pacific region. He said he was very worried about the potential for a much larger epidemic in PNG, and it was vital the country received more Covid-19 vaccines as soon as possible. PNG has now reported more than 9,300 Covid-19 cases and 82 deaths. ‘While these numbers are still smaller than other countries, the increase is sharp and WHO is very concerned about the potential for a much larger epidemic,’ Tedros said.