WHO warns of ‘concerning’ Covid-19 trends ahead of winter
- Covid-19 death toll on the rise again in parts of the Middle East and Asia, WHO says
- UN health agency estimates ‘hundreds of thousands’ in hospital for Covid-19
The World Health Organization warned of “concerning trends” for Covid-19 ahead of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, calling for increased vaccinations and surveillance.
While data is limited because many countries have stopped reporting Covid data, the UN health agency estimated that hundreds of thousands of people around the world were currently hospitalised with the virus.
“We continue to see concerning trends for Covid-19 ahead of the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an online press conference on Wednesday.
“Deaths are increasing in some parts of the Middle East and Asia, intensive care unit admissions are increasing in Europe and hospitalisations are increasing in several regions,” he said.
But only 43 countries – less than a quarter of the 194 WHO member states – are reporting Covid deaths to the agency, and only 20 provide information about hospitalisations, he added.
“We estimate that there are hundreds of thousands of people in hospital now for Covid,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19.