COVID-19

More Than 25 Million Cases of Coronavirus Cases Globally

World Health Organization leaders at a press briefing on COVID-19, held on March 6 at WHO headquarters in Geneva. Here's a look at its history, its mission and its role in the current crisis.

Coronavirus cases have exceeded twenty-five (25) million globally with more than eight hundred and forty thousand (840,000) deaths.

While countries continue to implement lockdowns and other restrictions to ease the pressure the virus is having on their health care systems, the pressure continues to mount.

Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus says it’s putting a strain on health care services.

The WHO survey also shows that seventy percent of essential services have been disrupted including routine immunization diagnosis, treatment for non-communicable disease, family planning, and contraception, and treatment for mental illness among others.

With the 25 Million Cases report, Dr. Ghebreyesus also emphasizes the need for countries to avoid large gatherings as it leads to new and explosive outbreaks.

The World Health Organization says alongside the COVID-19 pandemic, it is actively working to provide health care assistance to more than six thousand victims who were injured in the Beirut blast in Lebanon, some of the country’s health care facilities were destroyed during the blast.