WHO: 16 Million COVID-19 Cases Globally

The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed today, Monday, that it considered the pandemic of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) as the most serious emergency declared globally, .

Officials of the organization noted that the spread of the disease is accelerating in dangerous rates.

It is clear that the Corona pandemic represents the most serious health challenge we have ever declared," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference.

Ghebreyesus said that the WHO has received reports about 16 million cases of the virus and more than 640,000 deaths, stressing that the pandemic continues to accelerate across the various parts of the globe.

In this context, the director of the organization revealed that the last 6 weeks have seen infections almost double.

Ghebreyesus pointed out that the virus cannot be defeated except through strict application of health preventive measures, from wearing facial masks to avoiding crowding, indicating that in places where adherence to these measures takes place, cases are reversed, and in places where infections are not applied go up.

The WHO Director-General commended the actions taken by the governments of Canada, China, Germany and South Korea in controlling the outbreak.

On the other hand, Belgium recorded a rise in the number of infections with the Corona virus during the past week, by 71%, as well as France recorded a limited increase in the number of infections, which in turn expressed concern about the situation in Belgium.

The Belgian Institute of Health, "Sciensano", said today, Monday, that the increase in infections with the COVID-19 in Belgium over the past seven days amounted to 71%, indicating that 279 people contract the disease daily.

Belgium recorded since the middle of last March 66026 cases of Corona infection, while about 10 thousand people have died since the outbreak began.

The rate of infections in Belgium during the past two weeks has reached 20 cases per 100,000 people.

The Belgian authorities decided last week to tighten the procedures to cope with the outbreaks of the virus amid increasing cases.

Since July 25, wearing masks has become mandatory in the markets and public places in Belgium.

Meanwhile, the French authorities called on companies to provide enough masks for residents for ten weeks, after recording a limited increase in the number of infections in them, and the alarming increase in the number of infections in northern neighbor Belgium.

On the American side of the Atlantic Ocean, a US health official said the number of novel Coronavirus patients in the United States of America (USA) could be ten times higher and more than 20 million people could be infected with the deadly virus.

Robert Redfield, director of the US Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( USFCDCP), was quoted as saying: "According to our accurate estimates, there are currently 10 other cases for each registered case."

Redfield stated that between 92-95% of the population of the United States is still vulnerable to infection with the virus, indicating that this evaluation depends upon blood tests for antibodies, because there are 10 antibodies for each A confirmed case of infection.

At the same time, ( USFCDCP) emphasized that pregnant women face a greater risk of developing serious diseases.

Redfield did not agree that a second epidemiological wave was observed in the country, saying in this regard: "We are not talking about a second wave now, we are still in the first wave. The first wave takes different forms."

The new cases are concentrated in states that either survived the outbreak initially or moved early to lift restrictions designed to curb the spread of the virus.