WHO
Covid in Bangladesh: Daily toll remains above 200; 15,271 more infected
As the Delta variant of Covid-19 engulfed the country, Bangladesh recorded 239 more deaths caused by the virus in 24 hours till Thursday morning.
Besides, 15,271 new people came out Covid positive during the period after the test of 52,282 samples, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The fresh cases took the country’s Covid death tally to 20,255 today while the caseload to 1,226,253.
The country has been seeing nearly 200 deaths a day for the past two weeks, shattering the records of daily cases and deaths almost every other day.
Meanwhile, the daily test-positivity rate declined slightly to 29.21% from Wednesday's 30.12% while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 5% or below rate.
Read: Covid claims 41 more lives in Khulna division
However, the case fatality rate remained unchanged at 1.65 % during the period, said the DGHS.
The recovery rate too increased slightly to 85.64 % from Tuesday’s 85.54 % with the recovery of more 14,336 patients.
Drowning kills 2.5 million people in last decade: WHO
Drowning is now a leading cause of death for children aged under five in many countries, the UN health agency said Friday.
Around 2.5 million people died by drowning in the decade to 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said, as it set out a series of simple measures to help reduce the "entirely preventable cause of death."
Around 60% of all drowning deaths were among those under the age of 30, with the highest rates among children aged under five, the WHO said ahead of the first-ever World Drowning Prevention Day, which falls on Sunday.
"The shocking numbers included an estimated 236,000 people in 2019 alone who lost their lives due to drowning," Dr David Meddings, from the WHO's Social Determinants of Health department, told the media.
READ: Four children drown on Eid day
Flooding-related fatalities and deaths due to water transport accidents and intentional drownings are not included in the overall statistics, the UN agency said. "The exact rate of mortality might be much higher."
The decline in the death rates of children aged under five from all causes over the past 40 years had masked the residual problem of deaths due to drowning, David said. "Drowning is now a leading cause of death for children under the age of five, in many, many countries."
Drowning was the leading cause of death for under-fives in China and the second-biggest in the US and France, he added. "In Bangladesh, an estimated 40 children died from drowning every day in 2016 alone."
However, drowning rates in low- and middle-income countries are more than three times higher than in high-income nations.
The WHO said drowning disproportionately affected poor and marginalised communities which have the fewest resources to adapt to the risks around them.
READ: 2 children drown in Gaibandha pond
However, simple steps could prevent many deaths, such as installing barriers around wells, providing safe places for children to play away from water, and teaching youngsters basic swimming and water safety skills, David said.
Greater training in safe rescue and resuscitation techniques would also help people to assist anyone who is drowning.
Enforcing safe shipping loading and ferry regulations, and improving flood risk management, are two other interventions recommended by the WHO.
Americas account for 40% global Covid deaths, 25% cases: WHO
North, Central and South Americas still bear the global burden of 40% of Covid-19 fatalities and more than 25% of cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Almost 1 million cases were reported in the Americas last week, said Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead on Covid-19 for the WHO, Monday.
Read:US tops 30 million confirmed cases of COVID-19
In Brazil, around 300,000 cases were recorded last week; in the US, more than 200,000 cases were reported, Maria added.
She warned of a peak in the transmission level that has been observed in the region, saying that "they are stuck at a high level of intensity, and cannot quite bring that transmission down."
An 11.5% rise in global cases were seen last week, with Europe and the Western Pacific being hit the hardest, Maria said. "The Americas saw a moderate increase of 0.5%, but some countries were plagued by really sharp spikes in transmission possibly due to new variants."
Meanwhile, US life expectancy fell by a year and a half in 2020, the largest one-year decline since World War II, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Read: Global Covid cases near 190 million
The covid-19 pandemic is responsible for around 74% of the overall life expectancy decline. More than 3.3 million Americans died last year, far more than any other year in US history, with Covid-19 accounting for about 11% of those deaths, the health officials said.
However, the virus' role varied by race and ethnicity. It was responsible for 90% of the decline in life expectancy among Hispanics, 68% among white people and 59% among Black Americans.
For decades, US life expectancy was on the upswing. But that trend stalled in 2015, for several years, before hitting 78 years, 10 months in 2019. Last year, it fell to about 77 years, four months, the CDC said.
"South America, Central America and other places around the world need more vaccines if they are going to break this deadly cycle of cases," said Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Program.
WHO head says Olympics virus risk inevitable
The Latest on the Tokyo Olympics, which are taking place under heavy restrictions after a year’s delay because of the coronavirus pandemic:
The head of the World Health Organization says the Tokyo Olympics should not be judged by how many COVID-19 cases arise because eliminating risk is impossible.
WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an International Olympic Committee meeting that how infections are handled is what matters most.
Also read: Japan girds for a surreal Olympics, and questions are plenty
“The mark of success is making sure that any cases are identified, isolated, traced and cared for as quickly as possible and onward transmission is interrupted,” he said.
The number of Games-linked COVID-19 cases in Japan this month was 79 on Wednesday, with more international athletes testing positive at home and unable to travel.
Teammates classed as close contacts of infected athletes can continue training and preparing for events under a regime of isolation and extra monitoring.
Host Japan is off to a winning start as the Tokyo Olympics get underway, beating Australia 8-1 Wednesday in softball behind 39-year-old pitcher Yukiko Ueno, who won the 2008 gold medal game against the United States.
Also read: Tokyo's daily COVID-19 cases top 1,000 for 3rd straight day, just a week before Olympics
The game was played in a nearly empty stadium. Fans were barred because of the coronavirus pandemic. Many in Japan have questioned whether the Olympics should take place at all with low levels of vaccination in the nation.
Ueno allowed two hits over 4 1/3 innings and struck out seven, throwing 85 pitches for the win.
Minori Naito and Saki Yamazaki hit two-run homers off loser Kaia Parnaby. Yu Yamamoto, who had three RBIs, added a two-run drive against Tarni Stepto in the fifth that ended the game under a rout rule.
Japan is defending softball gold medalist after upsetting the U.S. in the 2008 final. Softball and baseball were dropped for 2012 and 2016 and restored for these Olympics. They already have been dropped for the 2024 Paris Games but are likely to be restored for 2028 in Los Angeles.
WHO official warns against easing coronavirus restrictions too quickly
The coronavirus pandemic is not over yet and restrictions should not be eased too quickly, WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr. Hans Kluge said in an op-ed available to TASS.
"It may be summer, but the pandemic is far from over. Pandemic fatigue has taken a toll on our collective mental health, and it is only natural that people want to relax after what has been a challenging time for everybody," he pointed out. "However, we were in this position last summer. When restrictions were eased too quickly we saw a devastating rise in cases and deaths across the Region that led us back into lockdowns," Kluge added.
READ: It was premature to rule out Covid lab leak: WHO
"Now, after over a year of pressure on our health systems, schooling, livelihoods, economies, physical and mental health, we cannot afford to make the same mistake," Kluge emphasized.
He noted that "although vaccination continues apace" across Europe, "a large proportion of the population remains unvaccinated, while highly transmissible variants of concern are circulating". "At the same time, we are seeing an easing of public health and social measures leading to an increase in COVID-19 cases; where vaccination rates are not high, especially among the most vulnerable, that translates into increased hospitalizations, stretched health systems - and lost lives," the WHO regional director for Europe stressed.
READ: WHO chief describes current stage of pandemic 'very dangerous'
It was premature to rule out Covid lab leak: WHO
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged it was "premature" to rule out a potential link between the Covid-19 pandemic and a laboratory leak.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Thursday said getting access to raw data had been a challenge for the international team that travelled to China earlier this year to investigate the source of Covid-19.
Read: Scientists reject Covid-19 conspiracy claims over lab origin
He said there had been a "premature push" to rule out the theory that the virus might have escaped from a Chinese government lab in Wuhan – undermining the WHO's March report, which concluded that a laboratory leak was "extremely unlikely."
The first human cases were identified in China's Wuhan city. Tedros told reporters that the UN health agency is "asking China to be transparent, open and cooperate, especially on the information, raw data that we asked for at the early days of the pandemic."
"I was a lab technician myself, I'm an immunologist, and I have worked in the lab, and lab accidents happen. It's common," he said.
In recent months, the idea that the pandemic started somehow in a laboratory – and perhaps involved an engineered virus – has gained traction, especially with President Joe Biden ordering a review of US intelligence to assess the possibility in May.
China has struck back aggressively, arguing that attempts to link the origins of Covid-19 to a lab are politically motivated and has suggested that the outbreak might have started abroad.
Read: WHO report says animals likely source of COVID
Most scientists suspect that the coronavirus originated in bats, but the exact route by which it first jumped into people – via an intermediary animal or in some other way – has not yet been determined. It typically takes decades to narrow down the natural source of an animal virus like Ebola or SARS.
"We need information, direct information on what the situation of this lab was before and at the start of the pandemic," the WHO chief said, adding that China's cooperation was critical. "If we get full information, we can exclude (the lab connection)."
Numerous public health experts have also called for an independent examination of Covid-19's origins, arguing the WHO does not have the political clout to conduct such a forensic analysis and that the UN agency has failed after more than a year to extract critical details from China.
Jamie Metzl, who has led a group of scientists calling for a broader origins investigation, welcomed Tedros' comments but said it was "deeply unfortunate and dangerous" that there were no current plans for a probe led by experts beyond the UN health agency, saying that China has repeatedly blocked requests for all relevant records and samples.
Georgetown University law professor Lawrence Gostin, an expert in public health law, said Tedros' unusual plea for Chinese cooperation underlines how weak the WHO is. "It has no power or political heft to demand access to information critical for global health."
Any WHO-led mission to China also requires government approval for all experts who travel to the country, as well as permission to visit field sites and final approval on any trip report.
Tedros' appeal for transparency was echoed by German Health Minister Jens Spahn, who urged Chinese officials to allow the investigation into the origins of the virus to proceed.
"We do appreciate the cooperation of the Chinese government so far for the first mission. But that's not yet enough," he said.
Nothing to be sceptical about Chinese vaccines: FM
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday said there is nothing to worry about the safety of Chinese vaccines, mentioning that millions of people used the vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Listen, we heard the same when Covid-19 vaccine – AstraZeneca – first came to Bangladesh. So, there’s nothing to worry about (Chinese vaccines). WHO approved the vaccines,” he said when a reporter raised the issue.
Dr Momen referred to what he saw in video (fake) that 13 nurses turned senseless in the UK after taking AstraZeneca vaccine doses. “This kind of thing comes up.”
More than 1 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in China, according to international media.
Read: FM reassures on adequate vaccine supply from multiple sources
“There has been no problem for any of them (in China) who got vaccinated,” said the Foreign Minister, adding that there is no reason to get worried.
WHO chief describes current stage of pandemic 'very dangerous'
The novel coronavirus pandemic is at a very dangerous stage at the moment, despite the global community’s successes in fighting it, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday.
"While we have progress in controlling the pandemic, it remains in a very dangerous phase," the WHO chief said at a meeting of the ACT Accelerator Facilitation Council.
In the current situation, "the only way out is to support countries in the equitable distribution of PPE [personal protective equipment], tests, treatments and vaccines," he continued.
Ghebreyesus added that states with sufficient instruments to fight the novel coronavirus have already started to ease pandemic-related restrictions. "Meanwhile, countries without access to sufficient supplies are facing waves of hospitalizations and death," he added.
Also read: Global Covid-19 incidence rises 3% over week: WHO
The WHO director general also raised the issue during another event on Tuesday, while attending the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) High-Level Political Forum. In his address, Ghebreyesus noted "steep epidemic" in African, Asian and American countries.
"In fact, these cases and deaths are largely avoidable," he said, calling upon the global community to "use all the tools at our disposal to prevent transmission." According to Ghebreyesus, the pandemic demonstrated that "relying on a few companies to supply global public goods is limiting and risky."
"We have to learn the lessons of COVID-19," he said, calling upon the global community "to prepare for the next one."
In late December 2019, Chinese officials informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia. On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.
Also read: 'Dangerous period' with delta variant: WHO
Since the start of pandemic, 183,934,913 cases have been reported worldwide, while the death toll stands at 3,985,022. The number of cases grew by 326,231 in the past 24 hours, while the number of deaths increased by 6,347.
The international partnership named the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, or ACT-Accelerator, was officially launched on April 24 by the WHO, the EU, France, and philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates. As the WHO explained, the new initiative "is a unique partnership of many of the world’s international health organizations who have come together to share, and build on, individual expertise to create a powerful global solution that will ensure equity in access to tests, vaccines, treatments across the world with one goal: to reduce the burden of the COVID-19.".
'Dangerous period' with delta variant: WHO
The head of the World Health Organization says the world is in “a very dangerous period” of the COVID-19 pandemic, noting the more contagious delta variant is identified in nearly 100 countries.
At a press briefing on Friday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the delta variant, first found in India, is continuing to evolve and mutate, and it is becoming the predominant COVID-19 virus in many countries.
Also read: Delta variant exploits low vaccine rates, easing of rules
“I have already urged leaders across the world to ensure that by this time next year, 70% of all people in every country are vaccinated,” he said, adding that would effectively end the acute phase of the pandemic.
He noted 3 billion doses of vaccine have already been distributed and, “it’s within the collective power of a few countries to step up and ensure that vaccines are shared.”
Also read: What should I know about the delta variant?
Of the vaccine doses given globally, fewer than 2% have been in poorer countries. Although rich countries including Britain, the U.S., France and Canada have pledged to donate 1 billion COVID-19 vaccines, WHO estimates 11 billion doses are needed to immunize the world.
IEDCR study of 50 samples finds 40 are Delta
Delta, the Coronavirus variant first found in India, turned out to be 80% of some 50 genomes sequenced in Bangladesh since May 16 by IEDCR. There is also evidence of community transmission of the variant, according to research jointly carried out by IEDCR and IDSHI.
The study also identified one "unknown variant" and found 8 of the samples (16%) to be infected with the South African variant.
IEDCR and IDSHI collected and analysed 50 samples from across the country, including border districts and the capital since May 16.
The research also found 40 out of the total 50 cases as Delta variant, known as Indian variant, in samples collected from Chapainawabganj, Gopalganj, Khulna, Dhaka, Dinajpur, Gaibandha, Bagerhat, Jhenaidah and Pirojpur.
Also read: Indian Variant: The New Concern
Also, among the 40 patients, eight were tested positive after returning from India while 18 others came in contact with overseas returnees although they did not travel abroad.
Meanwhile, among the samples collected, 14 infected people neither went abroad nor came in contact with people with travel history. So, it is clear that the Indian variant is being transmitted at the community level inside the country, the research said.
On May 8, the Indian variant was detected in Bangladesh for the first time. All of the infected people returned from the neighbouring country.
The "highly contagious" Indian Delta variant was first detected in October last year. The World Health Organization labelled it a "variant of concern."
Also read: 8 Indian variant cases identified in Jashore