WHO warns coronavirus is accelerating as cases pass 12m

Coronavirus is not under control across the majority of the world, and is actually getting worse, according to the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
He said the total number of cases of coronavirus worldwide has actually doubled in the last six weeks, adding that the spread of Covid-19 isn’t showing any signs of decline in the worst-affected countries including the US, Brazil and India.
Speaking at a member state briefing on the pandemic yesterday, Ghebreyesus noted: “The virus has upended health systems in some of the world’s wealthiest nations, while some countries that have mounted a successful response have been of modest means.”
“We know that when countries take a comprehensive approach based on fundamental public health measures – such as find, isolate, test and treat cases, and trace and quarantine contacts – the outbreak can be brought under control.”
He went on to say “But in most of the world the virus is not under control. It is getting worse”.
The news comes as quarantine rules for those entering or exiting the UK from 59 countries were today relaxed.
Ghebreyesus warned: “The pandemic is still accelerating.” He cited 11.8m coronavirus cases across the world. Today the number was closer to 12.3m and 555,486 deaths.
President Donald Trump has cut ties with the WHO after accusing it of failing to respond promptly enough to the coronavirus pandemic.
The warning from the World Health Organisation comes soon after President Trump moved to officially withdraw the US from WHO.
While most countries have now moved their focus to prevent a second wave of infections, the US, Brazil and India are still struggling to contain their first waves and currently account for the majority of new Covid-19 cases reported daily.
The US has become the worst affected country by the pandemic, with more than 3m confirmed cases, accounting for over a quarter of the worldwide count. This means that nearly one in every 100 Americans has been confirmed as infected with the virus. The country now accounts for 131,000 of the 555,000 worldwide deaths.
The US’s latest daily number of Covid-19 cases topped 60,000, while Brazil reported nearly 45,000 and India nearly 25,000 new cases.
Tokyo has also seen a rise in cases, prompting concern that Japan may be experiencing a second wave of the virus.
Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike said: “It’s a wake-up call. We need to use extra caution against the further spread of the infections.”
Additionally, Hong Kong has closed all schools once again in response to a recent spike in infections.
Officials in other European countries, including that of France and Greece, have warned of the risk of new flare-ups due to social distancing guidelines being ignored.
In the UK, a spike in infections in Leicester caused the city to be sent back into a localised lockdown.