Amid the rise in COVID-19 cases across the world, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Sunday (October 24) said that the coronavirus pandemic ‘will end when the world chooses to end it’. Addressing the World Health Summit in Berlin, Tedros said that ‘When will the COVID-19 pandemic end?’ is one of the questions people keep on asking him frequently.
“The pandemic will end when the world chooses to end it. It is in our hands. We have all the tools we need: effective public health tools and effective medical tools. But the world has not used those tools well,” Tedros said.
According to WHO chief, with around 50000 deaths a week, the ‘pandemic is far from over’.Â
Tedros remarked that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the gaps in the global ability to prepare for, prevent, detect and respond rapidly to outbreaks.
“The pandemic has demonstrated beyond doubt that health is not a luxury for the rich, or simply an outcome of development; it’s a fundamental human right, and the basis of social, economic and political stability,” Tedros added.
The WHO chief asserted that it is impossible for any country to end the COVID-19 pandemic in isolation from the rest of the world and it is impossible for any country to protect the health of its own people without working to protect the health of all people. H
