WHO official: COVID-19 pandemic is ‘far from over’
March 18, 2022, 5:03 pm

WHO official: COVID-19 pandemic is ‘far from over’

World Health Organization

The Arab News reported, according to Reuters, a World Health Organization spokesperson said on Friday that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic was a long way off, citing a rise in cases in its latest weekly data.

The UN health agency has previously said that the acute phase of the pandemic could end this year but it would depend on how quickly we meet its target to vaccinate 70 percent of the population in each country, among other factors.

Asked by a journalist at a Geneva media briefing about the timing of the pandemic’s end, Margaret Harris said it was “far from over.” She added: “We are definitely in the middle of the pandemic."

Reported COVID-19 cases are again increasing
'Reported COVID-19 cases are again increasing despite reductions in testing, which means the cases we're seeing are just the tip of the iceberg. We call on countries to continue to: -Vaccinate -Test -Sequence -Provide early care for patients -Apply common-sense public health measures' - Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Posted by World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday, March 17, 2022

After more than a month of decline, COVID-19 cases started to increase around the world last week, the WHO said, with lockdowns in Asia and China’s Jilin province battling to contain an outbreak.

Cases of Omicron BA2 subvariant rising across the European Union

The WHO said, a combination of factors was causing the increases, including the highly transmissible omicron variant and its cousin the BA.2 sub-variant, and the lifting of public health and social measures.

Source: arabnews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.