The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) says he hopes the coronavirus pandemic will be over in under two years.<\/p>\n
Speaking in Geneva this Friday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Spanish flu of 1918 took two years to overcome.<\/p>\n
But he added that current advances in technology could enable the world to halt the virus \u201cin a shorter time\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course with more connectedness, the virus has a better chance of spreading,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut at the same time, we have also the technology to stop it, and the knowledge to stop it,\u201d he noted, stressing the importance of \u201cnational unity, global solidarity\u201d.<\/p>\n
The deadly flu of 1918 killed at least 50 million people.<\/p>\n
The coronavirus has so far killed almost 800 000 people and infected 22.7 million more.<\/p>\n
Dr Tedros also responded to a question about corruption relating to personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic, which he described as \u201ccriminal\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny type of corruption is unacceptable,\u201d he answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, corruption related to PPE\u2026 for me it\u2019s murder. Because if health workers work without PPE, we\u2019re risking their lives. And that also risks the lives of the people they serve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although the question related to allegations of corruption in South Africa, several countries have faced similar issues.<\/p>\n
The head of the WHO\u2019s health emergencies programme warned that the scale of the coronavirus outbreak in Mexico was \u201cclearly under-recognised\u201d.<\/p>\n
Dr Mike Ryan said the equivalent of around three people per 100 000 was being tested in Mexico, compared to about 150 per 100 000 people in the US.<\/p>\n
Mexico has the third-highest number of deaths in the world, with almost 60 000 fatalities recorded since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins University.<\/p>\n
In the US, meanwhile, Democratic nominee Joe Biden has attacked President Donald Trump\u2019s handling of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur current president has failed in his most basic duty to the nation. He\u2019s failed to protect us. He\u2019s failed to protect America,\u201d Mr Biden said and pledged to introduce a national mandate to wear masks if elected.<\/p>\n
More than 1 000 new deaths were announced in the US on Friday, bringing the total number of fatalities to 173 490.<\/p>\n
On Friday, several countries announced their highest numbers of new cases in months.<\/p>\n
South Korea recorded 324 new cases \u2013 its highest single-day total since March.<\/p>\n
As with its previous outbreak, the new infections have been linked to churches, and museums, nightclubs and karaoke bars have now been closed in and around the capital Seoul in response.<\/p>\n
A number of European countries are also seeing rises.<\/p>\n
Poland and Slovakia both announced record new daily infections on Friday, with 903 and 123 cases respectively, while Spain and France have seen dramatic increases in recent days.<\/p>\n
In Lebanon, a two-week partial lockdown \u2013 including a night-time curfew \u2013 has come into effect as the country saw its highest number of cases since the pandemic began.<\/p>\n
Infections have doubled since a devastating blast in the capital Beirut killed at least 178 people and injured thousands more on 4 August.
\nThe disaster left an estimated 300,000 people homeless and placed a massive strain on medical facilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) says he hopes the coronavirus pandemic will be over in under two years. Speaking in Geneva this Friday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Spanish flu of 1918 took two years to overcome. But he added that current advances in technology could enable the world to halt the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":24691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[1279,1311],"class_list":{"0":"post-26797","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-community","9":"tag-coronavirus-in-zimbabwe","10":"tag-who"},"yoast_head":"\n