The World Health Organisation has crumbled the hopes of many by warning the world that the first wave of the global pandemic is not yet over. Countries like India and Brazil are struggling with surging coronavirus cases, hand-in-hand with a crumbling economy. The WHO has warned that authorities must have enough testing in place to control the spread of the pandemic before reopening their economies.
Dr. Mike Ryan, the executive director of the WHO has confirmed that this is not the second wave of the pandemic. The world is currently in the middle of the first wave itself.
He said that Brazil’s intense transmission rates means that it should adhere to stay-at-home measures, regardless of the negative economic impacts. While talking about South America, South Asia and other areas where infections continue to rise, Dr. Ryan has stated that this is a phase where the disease is actually on its way up.
WHO has announced that it will temporarily drop hydroxychloriquine from its global study of experimental COVID-19 treatments. The announcement came after a paper in Lancet showed that people taking the drug were at a higher risk of death and heart problems.
However, several countries in Europe and North Africa are using chloroquine and hydrochloroquine to treat infected patients. Brazil has ordered an army lab to boost its production of chloroquine.
Many countries have opened up their economies, leading to the population to leave their homes. As important as that is, it is also extremely important to understand that the virus is still present, and the spread is only increasing.
