Second year of pandemic ‘could even be more difficult’: WHO’s Ryan

GENEVA (Reuters) – The second year of the COVID-19 pandemic could be more difficult than the first given the spread of the new coronavirus, particularly in the northern hemisphere as more infectious variants circulate, said Wednesday the World Health Organization (WHO).

“We are entering a second year, it might even be more difficult given the dynamics of transmission and some of the issues we are seeing,” Mike Ryan, WHO’s senior emergency officer, said at an event on social networks.

The worldwide death toll is approaching 2 million people since the start of the pandemic, with 91.5 million people infected.

The WHO, in its latest epidemiological update released overnight, said that after two weeks of fewer reported cases, some five million new cases were reported last week, the likely result of a downgrade in defenses during the holiday season when people – and the virus – came together.

“Certainly in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in Europe and North America, we’ve seen this kind of perfect storm of the season – coldness, people coming in, increased social mixing and a combination of factors. which have resulted in increased transmission in very many countries, ”Ryan says.

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical officer for COVID-19, warned: “After the holidays, in some countries the situation will get worse before it gets better.”

Amid growing fears of the more contagious variant of the coronavirus first detected in Britain but now entrenched around the world, governments across Europe on Wednesday announced tighter and longer restrictions on coronaviruses.

This includes home office demands and store closures in Switzerland, a prolonged Italian state of emergency for COVID-19 and German efforts to further reduce contact between those accused of having failed, so far. to bring the coronavirus under control.

“I’m afraid we’re going to stay in this peak and trough and peak and trough pattern, and we can do better,” Van Kerkhove said.

She called for maintaining physical distance, adding: “The further away the better … but be sure to keep this distance from people outside your immediate household.”