WHO chief stressed that everyone has an individual role to play as countries globally continue their fight against the coronavirus.
While giving an address at the Executive Board Special Session meeting on Monday evening, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief, Dr Tedros stressed that everyone has an individual role to play as countries globally continue their fight against the coronavirus.
In a statement, Dr.Tedros said that there has been laxity among individuals in the fight against the virus. He explained that when they last held a board meeting in February, there were only 151 cases and a single death outside China but now the real number of cases has hit millions.
“Everyone must play their part, from the individual decisions we make to protect ourselves & others, to the discussions we will have this week on behalf of the people we serve. We’re all in this together. Let’s use all the energy we have to fight COVID19,’’
“When this Board met in February, there were just 151 cases and 1 death outside China of what we now call #COVID19. Today, almost 35M cases have been reported to WHO and the real number is certainly higher,’’ Tedros said.
Also, the WHO chief said that the pandemic should act as a warning to countries to revise their health systems to be in a position to deal with future health emergencies that are still to come.
“The COVID19 pandemic is a wake-up call for all of us. We must all look in the mirror & ask what can we do better? Many Member States have come forward with suggestions about how to strengthen the global system for emergency preparedness & response. We thank them all,” he added.
“Numbers of cases & deaths can blind us to the reality that every single life lost is someone who loved & was loved by others – someone’s mother, father, sister, brother, daughter or These are the key priorities for the next 3 months of the COVID19 response.”
He, however, called upon all individuals across the globe to act together in solidarity if they are to put an end to the spread of the pandemic.
“We must realize the full potential of the ACT-Accelerator. We must all continue to make the most of the tools we have and we must also act together in solidarity. I will never tire of calling for solidarity. Finger-pointing will not prevent a single infection. Apportioning blame will not save a single life. What saves lives is national unity and global solidarity.”
Meanwhile, this comes at a time when the coronavirus continues to spread around the world with confirmed cases now hitting 35,614,152 from which 1,044,408 have succumbed to the virus while 26,765,134 have so far recovered according to October 05th statistics from the John Hopkins University.
In Uganda, the cumulative confirmed cases have now reached 8,965 after the health ministry on Monday announced 157 new cases from COVID-19 tests done on 04 October 2020. The Ministry also confirmed one more death pushing the death tally to 82.
Relatively, a total of 5,078 people in Uganda have so far been discharged from various referral hospitals countrywide after they recovered from the virus.
