Coronavirus: Italy rules spark protests as WHO warns of ‘pandemic fatigue’
- Protesters turn out in Italian cities to vent anger over latest Covid-19 rules
- WHO chief says of pandemic fight: ‘We cannot give up’
“Many countries in the northern hemisphere are seeing a concerning rise in cases and hospitalisations,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva on Monday.
“Intensive care units are filling up to capacity in some places, particularly in Europe and North America.”
More than 43 million people around the world have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since the pandemic began and more than 1.1 million people have died of Covid-19, the disease it causes.
Tedros said he understood the “pandemic fatigue” that people were feeling as a result of lockdowns.
“Working from home, children being schooled remotely, not being able to celebrate milestones with friends and family or not being there to mourn loved ones – it’s tough and the fatigue is real,” he said.