Health crisis
The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday there was a “fighting chance” of containing the virus that’s spread from China, but the crisis could get worse.
“Although the window of opportunity is narrowing to contain the outbreak, we still have a chance to contain it,” WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva.
But he added: “We have to prepare at the same time for any eventualities, because this outbreak could go any direction – it could even be messy.”
His comments came after South Korea announced a sharp rise in new cases.
Dr. Sylvie Briand, who heads global infectious hazard preparedness at WHO, cautioned that fatigue among overworked or understaffed healthcare workers also increases the risk of hospital-based infection, because in such cases, infection prevention and control measures tend to lag.
01:10
Cameroon reintroduces measures to curb COVID-19 resurgence
01:25
Past COVID infections may help protect against certain colds - Study
00:55
Africa: Opioids stronger than heroin are showing up in drug users for the first time -Report
Go to video
AstraZeneca withdraws its Covid-19 vaccine from sale
02:14
Malaria: The plight of residents of low-income neighbourhoods
01:33
Haiti: Health system near collapse as medicine dwindles and gangs attack hospitals