Xinhua News Agency, Geneva, December 3 (Reporter Liu Qu) The World Health Organization stated on the 2nd that the Omicron strain is still spreading widely around the world, and it is not yet time to declare the end of the emergency phase of the new crown pandemic.
The World Health Organization estimates that at least 90% of the world's population currently has some degree of immunity to the new coronavirus, either through previous infection or vaccination.
WHO Director-General Tan Desai said at a press conference on the 2nd: "We are now closer to the moment when we can declare the end of the emergency phase of the new crown pandemic, but we have not yet reached that step. Virus monitoring, testing, sequencing There are still gaps in vaccination and vaccination.”
Countries reported more than 2.5 million new cases to WHO in the last week alone, said Maria Van Kerkhoff, technical director of WHO's health emergencies programme.
The vaccination rate of high-risk groups such as people over 60 years old, patients with underlying diseases, people with low immunity, and front-line medical staff has not yet achieved the 100% target, which requires the attention of governments.
Michael Ryan, executive director of WHO's health emergencies program, said that the Omicron strain is highly transmissible, and all countries must respond to the outbreak based on their risk assessment and the epidemic prevention tools they have at their disposal.