WHO fears spike in global covid-19 cases will be followed by increased deaths
[GENEVA] The World Health Organization's (WHO) chief scientist on Wednesday raised concern that the recent global increase in new Covid-19 infections will be followed by rising deaths that currently number around 5,000 every day.
Cases are surging, with nearly 20,000 infections reported in Britain and Italy, Switzerland and Russia among nations reporting record new cases. More than 38 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and nearly 1.1 million have died, according to a Reuters tally.
"Mortality increases always lag behind increasing cases by a couple of weeks," Dr Soumya Swaminathan said during a WHO social media event. "We are still losing approximately 5,000 people a day...so we shouldn't be complacent that death rates are coming down."
REUTERS
GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
International
Bankers lose hope of London IPO revival for another year
Decarbonisation schemes are generating hot air
BOJ will hike rates if trend inflation accelerates, says Ueda
India tells spice makers to give details of quality checks after Hong Kong allegations
Eurozone business in services-led bounce in April, PMI survey shows
China’s surging steel exports are inflaming global trade tension