COVID-19 Pandemic Can Surprise Us Again: WHO Still Calls It Global Health Emergency

With winter soon to settle in many parts of the world, instead of a new emerging single variant, the world is eyeing a series of new variants coming our way.

COVID-19 continues to remain a global health emergency after three years since it was declared one, said the WHO on Wednesday. As per the global health watchdog, a general perception has settled in that pandemic is over in many parts of the world but in truth, it continues to strongly affect the health of the world's population.

In the words of the Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, "This Pandemic has surprised us before and very well may again."

Last week, the Emergency Committee on COVID-19 met to address the global situation and the way forward. The Committee that declared COVID-19 as a global health concern on January 30, 2020, still believes that the pandemic still poses threat globally. As per the Director-General, the virus is changing forms continuously and there remain many risks and uncertainties.

Global figures

Infections have been rising in the UK with one in 37 people infected with the coronavirus. Experts there have warned of a 'notable' rise in cases among the elderly as the winter approaches. As per reports, the number of COVID-related deaths in England has spiked by 40 per cent in a week and has reached its highest since August.

With winter soon to settle in many parts of the world, instead of a new emerging single variant, the world is eyeing a series of new variants coming our way.

As per reports, the BF.7 sub-variant is now making its way to the US, UK, Australia, Belgium and other places after emerging from China. The variant has also found its way into India with the first case reported from Gujarat.

Tally in India

India has reported 1,946 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours and the national recovery rate stands at 98.76 per cent. Three new sub-variants have been recently found in India, namely BF.7, XBB and BQ.1. As per experts, cases are likely to rise during the winter months. There is still a lot to know about the pathogenicity of these sub-variants.