Coronavirus will be with us for a long time —WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned against relaxing containment measures because the novel coronavirus which has claimed many lives across the globe will be with us for a very long time.

The warning was issued by WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom who said on Wednesday that there were “worrying upward trends” in early epidemics in parts of Africa and central and South America, warning that the “virus will be with us for a long time”.

“Make no mistake we have a long way to go. This virus will be with us for a long time,” he added, while noting progress in Western Europe.

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“Most countries are still in the early stages of their epidemics and some that were affected early in the pandemic are starting to see resurgence in cases,” he said.

Tedros in the statement also said that he hoped the President Donald Trump administration would reconsider its suspension of funding for WHO, but that his main focus was on ending the pandemic and saving lives.

“I hope the freezing of the funding will be reconsidered and the US will once again support WHO’s work and continue to save lives.

“I hope the US believes that this is an important investment, not just to help others but for the US to stay safe also,” Tedros added.

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