At a time when the coronavirus pandemic is taking off again in Europe, the World Organization is sounding a new alarm bell.

For the WHO, it is "very likely" that the Covid-19 could kill two million people, double the current toll, if everything is not done to fight the pandemic, said Friday September 26 a senior official from the UN agency.

"If we do not do everything possible, the number you are talking about (2 million dead - Editor's note) is not only possible but unfortunately very probable", replied the director of emergency situations of the WHO , Michael Ryan, interviewed at a press conference.

"If we don't continue to do more, to evolve, in the nature and scale and intensity of our cooperation, then yes, we are going to observe that number and unfortunately even (a number) higher. 'action is now, ”he added.

"It's not just testing and tracing, not just (performing) medical care, not just (applying) social distancing, not just (working on) vaccines: do it all in the home. times, "hammered Michael Ryan.

>> Read also: Covid-19: a new scientific model predicts contamination peaks in Europe

Terrible number

“One million is a terrible number and we have to think carefully about it before we consider a second million,” said Michael Ryan.

The Covid-19 pandemic, which started at the end of 2019 in China before spreading over the months throughout the world, is set, in the coming days, to cross the one million death mark.

According to the latest AFP count, Friday, September 26 at 11 a.m. GMT, at least 984,068 people had died from Covid-19 around the world.

More than 32,298,410 cases of infection have been officially diagnosed but the number of infections is thought to be much higher, with many people missing from a census.

The world again recorded a record 2 million confirmed infections last week, according to figures released by the WHO on Sunday.

On the other hand, the number of deaths has generally decreased over the same period.

>> See also: Mediterranean countries: inventory of the Covid-19 pandemic

Avoid betting everything on a vaccine

On the Old Continent, the WHO stresses that the situations are diverse from one country to another and that the increase in cases is in part linked to greater vigilance.

Maria Van Kerkhove, responsible for the management of Covid-19, however stressed that "what is worrying for us is the increase in the number of hospitalizations, an increase in the occupancy rate of beds and care services. intensive ".

A situation that could be further complicated by the start of the flu season, which could further clog healthcare systems already on the verge of overload.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for his part warned those who bet everything on a vaccine.

"Our message is that while working on vaccines, we must always work harder with the tools that we already have at our disposal," he said, stressing that this had enabled some countries to master the 'epidemic.

"When you use these tools already available you are saving lives now (...) you cannot save people today just by praying or by only working on vaccines that will not come until later," he said. He insists.

(France 24 with AFP)

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