WHO - SOME COUNTRIES ARE ON A 'DANGEROUS PATH'

 Filenews 23 October 2020

The world is now at a turning point in the Covid-19 pandemic and some countries are on a dangerous path, facing the possibility of their health services collapsing under the weight of the epidemic, the head of the World Health Organisation warned today.

"We are at a turning point in the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in the northern hemisphere," WHO Secretary-General Tedros Antanum Gebregeus said during a news conference.

"The next few months will be very tough and some countries are on a dangerous path."

"We urge leaders to take immediate action, to prevent more unnecessary deaths, (to prevent) the necessary health services from collapsing and schools not to close again. As I said in February and I repeat today: This is not an exercise."

Tedros pointed out that too many countries are recording an exponential increase in the number of infections and "this is now leading hospitals and intensive operations to operate close to the limits of their fullness or beyond, and we are still in October".

According to him, countries must take action to limit the spread of the virus soon. Improving tests, tracing the contacts of those infected and isolating those at risk of spreading the virus will allow countries to avoid lockdowns.

Research in the USA

More than half a million people in the U.S. could die from Covid-19 disease by the end of February 2021, but the lives of about 130,000 of them could be saved if everyone wore masks, according to the estimates of a model study.

The estimates, from the study by researchers at the Institute for Health Measurement and Evaluation at the University of Washington, show that with few effective options for treating Covid-19 and no vaccines at present, the US faces a "continuing public health challenge due to Covid-19 in winter."

Large, multi-million-strong states such as California, Texas and Florida will face particularly high levels of patients, deaths and hospital resource requirements, the study shows.

France

France should live with the new crown at least until next summer, the country's president, Emmanuel Macron, said today. Macron, who made statements during a visit to a hospital, also said there were no plans, at this stage, to limit curfews aimed at preventing the spread of the virus.

Italy

In the last 24 hours in Italy, cases of the new coronavirus have increased, while the number of new deaths has decreased. More specifically, 19,143 new cases were recorded, with 91 deaths and 180,032 diagnostic tests were carried out.

Yesterday the cases were 16,079 and 136 people had lost their lives. As far as the various regions of the country are concerned, Lombardy now reaches almost 5,000 cases, Campania recorded 2,280 and 2,032 in Pedemondio with Turin as its capital. However, according to Domenico Arkouri, special commissioner for the management of the emergency situation of the coronavirus, in Italy, in a total of 6,628 beds in the intensive care units of hospitals, only 15%, patients with Covid -19 are currently being treated.

Vincenzo De Luca, the regional governor of Campania, capital of Naples, however, asked Giuseppe Conte's government to proceed as quickly as possible to a Pan-Italian lockdown, adding that his region would "move at a rapid pace in this direction anyway." And Pedemondio, alongside turin's capital, has decided to impose a curfew during the night hours from next Monday. Finally, the Vatican announced a moment ago that thirteen members of the "Swiss guard", which guards the papal state, tested positive for the virus and are in house arrest.

Switzerland

Switzerland recorded a record number of cases today with total Covid-19 infections exceeding 100,000, as the second wave of new crown virus floods the country, whose infection rates far exceed those of its neighbours.

Confirmed cases in Switzerland and neighbouring Liechtenstein increased by 6,634, to 103,653, while the death toll increased by 10, to 1,877. The two-week infection rate per 100,000 inhabitants of Switzerland "significantly exceeds" those in France and Spain, is more than double that of Austria and Italy and five times germany's infection rate, according to health officials.

"We have clearly exceeded all of our neighbouring countries now," Stefan Custer, the head of the country's health ministry's infectious diseases office, said during a news conference. Tighter restrictions are expected to be imposed nationwide by the federal government next week, as the country, with a population of 8.6 million, aims to keep businesses open, children in classrooms and hospitals operating near normal levels.

Netherlands

The number of crown cases in the Netherlands has jumped by almost 10,000 in the past 24 hours, recording a new record high, according to data released today by the National Institute of Public Health (RIVM). The government imposed some lockdown measures to stem the spread of the disease on October 14, including the closure of all bars and restaurants in the country.

Spain

The "real number" of people infected with COVID-19 in Spain since the beginning of the pandemic "exceeds three million," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said today. "The situation is serious," he said in a televised statement during which he did not announce any new measures and which appears to have been aimed mainly at preparing Spaniards for new restrictions in the near future, when the regions, which have responsibility for public health, reach an agreement with the central government.

Sanchez recalled that Spain officially exceeded this week the limit of one million cases of the new crown. But he added that "the actual number of people infected already exceeds three million of our compatriots," explaining this huge difference from the fact that the proportion of people who were positive was very low at the beginning of the pandemic.

Source: RES- ICM