WHO chief: Don’t politicise the pandemic
DUBAI (AP):
WORLD LEADERS must not politicise the coronavirus pandemic but unite to fight it, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Monday, reminding all that the pandemic is still accelerating and producing record daily increases in infections.
The comments by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has faced criticism from US President Donald Trump, came as the number of reported infections soared in Brazil, Iraq, India and southern and western US states, straining local hospitals.
It took over three months for the world to see one million virus infections, but the last one million cases have come in just eight days, Tedros said during a videoconference for the Dubai-based World Government Summit.
Ghebreyesus never mentioned Trump’s name or the fact that he is determined to pull the United States out of the UN health agency, but warned against “politicising” the pandemic.
“The greatest threat we face now is not the virus itself, it’s the lack of global solidarity and global leadership,” he said. “We cannot defeat this pandemic with a divided world.”
Trump has criticised the WHO for its early response to the outbreak and what he considers its excessive praise of China, where the outbreak began, as his administration’s response in the US has come under scrutiny. In response, Trump has threatened to end all US funding for the WHO.
Over nine million people have been infected by the virus worldwide and more than 468,000 have died, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Experts say the actual numbers are much higher, due to limited testing and asymptomatic cases.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that, indeed, the world was not prepared,” Ghebreyesus said. “Globally, the pandemic is still accelerating.”
Companies around the world are racing to find a vaccine to counter COVID-19, and there is a fierce debate about how to make sure that vaccine is distributed fairly.