This virus will be with us for a long time: WHO Chief on COVID-19

"Make no mistake: we have a long way to go. This virus will be with us for a long time," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The WHO chief was under a lot of criticism earlier for not taking the pandemic more seriously and for not holding China accountable for the spread of the virus.

"Looking back, I think we declared the emergency at the right time" on January 30. He said that the world "had enough time to respond."

He further said, "Most of the epidemics in western Europe appear to be stable or declining," Tedros told a virtual press conference in Geneva.

"Although numbers are low, we see worrying upward trends in Africa, Central and South America, and eastern Europe."

"Most countries are still in the early stages of their epidemics. And some that were affected early in the pandemic are now starting to see a resurgence in cases."

Ghebreyesus had earlier warned that “the worst is yet ahead of us” in the coronavirus pandemic that has infected millions and killed thousands across the globe.

Addressing the media the WHO chief said: “Trust us. The worst is yet ahead of us… Let’s prevent this tragedy. It’s a virus that many people still don’t understand,” the Evening Standard newspaper reported.

“There is no secret in WHO because keeping things confidential or secret is dangerous. It’s a health issue. “This virus is dangerous. It exploits cracks between us when we have differences,” he added.

Ghebreyesus had said that the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff have been seconded to work with his agency, suggesting that was a sign of the WHO’s transparency.

“Having CDC staff means there is nothing hidden from the US from day one” the WHO chief said, adding: “Our CDC colleagues also know that we give information immediately to anyone.”

In one of his starkest comparisons yet, the UN health agency chief also alluded to the Spanish Flu more than a century ago, reports the Evening Standard newspaper.

He said the coronavirus has a “very dangerous combination… like the 1918 flu that killed up to 100 million people”.

Ghebreyesus called the illness “Public Enemy Number One” and said: “We have been warning from day one: this is a devil that everybody should fight.”

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