"World Health" calls for preparing for the "next epidemic"

China celebrates its victory over Corona ... and Europe is suffering

Chinese President Xi Jinping at an awards ceremony for medical professionals.

EPA

Chinese leaders held a ceremony marking the country's victory over the emerging corona virus (Covid-19), yesterday, while billions around the world are still suffering its repercussions, while the number of deaths is approaching 900,000, while the World Health Organization has called for preparation for the next epidemic.

This optimistic atmosphere from Beijing comes in light of the increasing concerns about the return of the "Covid-19" outbreak throughout Europe, with France tightening health restrictions, the increase in the number of infections in Britain, and the reopening of schools across the region in recent days.

So far, the number of infections around the world has reached more than 27 million, and more than 890,000 people have died due to "Covid-19", at a time when no indications have emerged that the epidemic has reached its climax.

But in China, the virus was contained through a set of closures and travel restrictions imposed earlier in the year, which made officials promote a narrative of the country's success in overcoming the Corona virus.

Yesterday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, during an awards ceremony for medical professionals, that his country had passed a "historic and exceptional test" in its handling of the emerging corona virus.

He added: "We quickly achieved initial success in the people's war against the Coronavirus. We are leading the world in the journey of economic recovery and the fight against (Covid-19)."

The Chinese propaganda machine praised the country's response to "Covid-19", and re-promoted the public health crisis as an example of the resilience and organization of the communist leadership.

Xi addressed tough words to skeptics in China, saying that "selfish moves and any excesses and actions that mix right and wrong" risked damaging the world.

Beijing is also promoting the progress made in vaccine production as evidence of global leadership and resilience.

China has offered local vaccines against the Corona virus, while this country, in which the epidemic was discovered, is trying to improve its reputation.

High hopes are attached to potential vaccines produced by the two Chinese companies, "Sinovac Biotech" and "Sinopharm", which are shown at the trade fair in Beijing this week.

None of them have been put on the market yet, but their producers hope that they will be approved after the end of the third phase trials, which are so important, early at the end of the year.

The potential vaccines offered are among about 10 vaccines around the world, and have entered the third phase of trials, which is usually the last step before approval by health authorities.

Spain has become the first country in Western Europe to cross the threshold of half a million infection with the Corona virus, and Spain has largely controlled the outbreak of the epidemic, but infections have increased since the restrictions were completely lifted at the end of June.

In Morocco, the authorities closed schools and imposed closure measures in Casablanca, after the high number of injuries in the city.

Moroccan Health Minister Khaled Ait El-Taleb said in a press statement, on Sunday evening, that strict measures should be taken, otherwise the situation will get out of control in the coming days.

But the decision angered some parents, and one of the parents wrote on Twitter: "The children were very happy that they would return to school tomorrow," and added: "How would you explain this to two boys aged six and eight years?"

The restrictions were also re-imposed in France, where seven other regions were placed on the red list, after recording consecutive daily infection rates, ranging between 7,000 and 9,000 injuries, and in England, officials imposed restrictions on travelers from seven Greek islands that are very popular with vacationers, after Britain recorded, At the end of the week, an infection rate has not seen the country since late May.

Dozens of schools in England and Wales reported an outbreak of the Corona virus among students and educational staff, prompting some of them to close their doors, while others sent employees and students home to isolate themselves.

A week after children began returning to classrooms for the first time since schools closed last March, schools across the UK were battling an outbreak.

According to the "Guardian" newspaper, in the city of Liverpool, about 200 students and 21 employees are isolating themselves, after the appearance of positive cases in five schools in the city, and in Suffolk County, five teachers were tested positive for the Corona virus, which led to the closure of a school, and in the Midlands it was tested. A positive teacher at a school Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited less than two weeks ago.

In areas such as Bradford, Leeds, Lancashire, Manchester, Nottingham and Leicester, there is a group of students and staff who have tested positive for the virus, which has prompted schools to require some students to self-isolate.

Five faculty members at Samuel Ward Academy in Haverhill, Suffolk, have tested positive, and the school has been closed following advice from Public Health England, and two staff members are awaiting results.

The school said the closure was a "precaution."

The National Education Federation said that "although the disruption caused by students and staff having to isolate themselves was inevitable, there is a need for more planning by schools to deal with the outbreak."

This comes at a time when the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called on the countries of the world yesterday to "be better prepared for the next epidemic."

Tedros said in a press statement from Geneva: "This will not be the last epidemic. History teaches us that outbreaks of diseases and epidemics are a fact of life, but when the next epidemic comes, the world must be ready, and more prepared than it was this time."

Many companies are racing to produce a vaccine against the "Covid-19" disease, caused by the emerging corona virus, but most of these vaccines are still in the clinical trial stage.

Last Friday, the organization’s spokeswoman, Margaret Harris, said that the organization does not expect to provide widespread immunization and prevention of the disease before the middle of next year, stressing the importance of conducting accurate tests to ensure the effectiveness of vaccines and the safety of their use.

• Dozens of schools in England and Wales have reported outbreaks of the Corona virus among students and educational staff.

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