Pandemic end in sight, Tedros says, in most upbeat outlook yet

Amman: More than 350 rescuers searched with drones and dogs for a second day for survivors under the rubble of a collapsed building in Amman, Jordan, where nine people were confirmed dead, officials said yesterday.

At least 25 people were in the dilapidated residential building in the Webdeh district of the Jordanian capital when it crumbled on Wednesday.

The latest survivor to be pulled out of the debris was a 5month old baby who was in a stable condition, a hospital source said.

The public prosecutor has opened a criminal case against a contractor who was drilling in the building in the days before its collapse and one of the owners of the building in connection with the incident, a judicial source said yesterday. — Reuters

BENGALURU: The world has never been in a better position to end the Covid19 pandemic, the head of the World Health Organisation said yesterday, his most optimistic outlook yet on the crisis which has killed more than six million people.

‘‘We are not there yet. But the end is in sight,’’ WHO directorgeneral Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a virtual press conference.

That was the most upbeat assessment from the UN agency since it declared an international emergency in January 2020 and started describing Covid19 as a pandemic three months later.

The virus, which emerged in China in late 2019, has killed nearly 6.5 million people and infected 606 million, damaging global economies and overwhelming healthcare systems.

The rollout of vaccines and therapies has helped to stem deaths and admissions to hospital and the Omicron variant, which emerged late last year, causes less severe disease. Deaths from Covid19 last week were the lowest since March 2020, the UN agency reported.

Still, yesterday Tedros again urged nations to maintain their vigilance and likened the pandemic to a marathon race.

‘‘Now is the time to run harder and make sure we cross the line and reap the rewards of all our hard work.’’

Countries needed to take a hard look at their policies and strengthen them for Covid19 and future viruses, Tedros said. He also urged nations to vaccinate 100% of their highrisk groups and keep testing for the virus.

The WHO said countries needed to maintain adequate supplies of medical equipment and healthcare workers.

‘‘We expect there to be future waves of infections, potentially at different time points throughout the world, caused by different subvariants of Omicron or even different variants of concern,’’ WHO senior epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said.

With more than one million deaths this year alone, the pandemic remains an emergency globally and within most countries.

WHO’s next meeting of experts to decide whether the pandemic still represented a public health emergency of international concern was due to be held next month, a WHO spokesman said.

‘‘It’s probably fair to say most of the world is moving beyond the emergency phase of the pandemic response,’’ Southampton University senior research fellow in global health Dr Michael Head said.

Governments were now looking at how best to manage Covid as part of their routine health care and surveillance, he said. — Reuters