After nine months of pandemic, it is estimated that
1 in 10 people in the world has already been infected by the new coronavirus
, but a "difficult period" is still looming because 90% of the global population is still at risk of exposure , warned the World Health Organization (WHO).
With a population of more than 7.5 billion in the world, that would mean that 750 million have been affected by the SARS-CoV2 virus.
Such an estimated number of infections presented by Dr. Mike Ryan, WHO's director for emergencies, far exceeds the
officially recognized number of infections of more than 35 million
.
However, Ryan stressed that "the problem is that there are still 6,000 million exposed to contagion" so "in the next
eight or nine months the world will still face a very difficult road
", in reference to the time expected for the conclusion of the development of a vaccine against the coronavirus.
[COVID-19: What is the global outlook given the daily increase in infections?]
In the meeting with Irish doctors in which he made the comments, Ryan also warned that if the world continues on its current course, with many countries that have not taken enough measures to mitigate contagions and other places where outbreaks begin to occur, the balance people killed will soon overcome an "unimaginable" barrier: 2 million deaths.
The pandemic changed the perspective of this young Latino towards the presidential elections
Oct. 5, 202002: 30
"A first million deaths is already a terrible number and it
is necessary to reflect on what to do now, before thinking about a second
"
million
, he stressed.
The real implementation of the tools that until now are known to work to stop contagion is required, such as contact tracing and the widespread use of face masks, said the Irish epidemiologist and orthopedic surgeon. Especially in developed countries where "there is a lot of complacency regarding infectious diseases, "Ryan said.
[Eight common ways to wear the mask that do not protect against coronavirus]
He thus contrasted the situation of nations such as the United States, which has the highest number of infections and deaths from the virus, with that of African countries that have learned to apply care mechanisms due to epidemics such as Ebola.
Some of the figures presented by the World Health Organization in early October 2020, by Diana Baptista.
Image from AP
"If you look at it in terms of resilience, the industrialized world has practically not shown it to have it in recent months, while the countries of Africa, due to the almost constant crises they experience, simply implement what is already known to work," he said. Ryan.
Along these lines, the experts urged all people to work to address both the current pandemic and to prevent the next ones, since
"pandemics are yet another consequence of our poor management of the planet and our ecosystem,"
said Ryan.
[Global warming accelerates relentlessly even during the coronavirus crisis]
The WHO also asked not to put all expectations only on a vaccine, considering that inoculation may still take time and that in the meantime more measures of both health care and financial aid must be implemented.
"If not, even when we have the vaccine, people can die while waiting for it to arrive," said Bruce Aylward, a Canadian epidemiologist at WHO.
With information from EFE and The Irish Times