Covid cases, deaths are plateauing: WHO chief

GENEVA/KATHMANDU: The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the planet was seeing a plateauing in the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths, with declines being observed in most regions including the Americas and Europe, the two regions worst-affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

“But it’s an unacceptably high plateau, with more than 5.4 million reported Covid-19 cases and almost 90,000 deaths last week,” the WHO’s director-general Tedros Adhanom warned.

The WHO chief also criticised the trend of “vaccine diplomacy”, slamming countries for using Covid-19 vaccines to gain competitive advantage rather than engaging in cooperation.

“Vaccine diplomacy is not cooperation,” he said. “We cannot defeat this pandemic through competition. If you compete for resources... then the virus gets the advantage.”

Nepal: Foreign climbers return to Mount Everest

Foreigners climbed Mount Everest for the first time since Nepal reopened the mountain after it was shut last year due to the pandemic, despite coronavirus cases being reported at its base camp in recent days. Thirty-eight climbers including ten Bahraini and two British mountaineers climbed the world’s highest mountain on Tuesday, according to hiking companies.

WHO warns against use of ivermectin for Covid

The WHO has recommended against the use of the orally-administered drug ivermectin for treating those suffering from Covid-19.