'EXTREME VIGILANCE'
World Health Organization chief declares a ‘dangerous new phase’ of coronavirus as record 150K new cases are confirmed
THE World Health Organization warned on Friday the coronavirus pandemic has entered a “new and dangerous phase” as the number of infections across the globe surge.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu said the number of new cases reported on Thursday — 150,000 — “were the most in a single day so far.”
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He said during a press conference that almost half of the total cases were reported from the US.
The , as of Friday, reported nearly 2.3million cases total, with more than 121,00 virus-related deaths.
“Many people are understandably fed up with being at home. Countries are understandably eager to open up their societies and economies,” Tedros said.
“But the virus is still spreading fast. It is still deadly and most people are still susceptible.”
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Tedros said that large numbers of infections were also coming from and the .
has the of outside the US, with more than 978,000 cases and nearly 50,000 deaths reported.
Mike Ryan, emergencies expert for the WHO, said Brazil that in just the last 24 hours, 1,230 people died from COVID-19 in the country.
He added roughly 12 percent of Brazil’s infections are among workers.
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Ryan said that based on genetic sequences the WHO has received from involving , it appears the virus was exported from .
He noted that “strains and viruses have moved around the world” throughout the virus pandemic and said the fact that a virus from Europe sparked China's latest outbreak did not mean the virus originated there.
“What it’s saying most likely is that the disease was probably imported from outside Beijing at some point,” Ryan said, adding that “establishing when that happened and how long the chain of transmission is, is important.”
He said that many coronavirus strains spreading in — the epicenter of the United States’ outbreak — could also be linked to Europe.
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Ryan said that analysis of the genetic sequences China provided so far suggests that the virus spread from other people.
He said it doesn’t suggest that it jumped to humans from animals.
WHO director confirms pandemic is 'worsening' as global infections rise, particularly in America and South Asia
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Scientists have suggested it’s likely the novel coronavirus infected humans from animals.
Tedros said that amid the pandemic, people and world leaders need to “exercise extreme vigilance” and to “focus on the basics.”
“Continue maintaining your distance from others. . Wear a mask when appropriate. Keep cleaning your hands,” he said.
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