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World is Entering a ‘New and Dangerous Phase’ of the Pandemic, WHO

During its Monday media briefing, the WHO Director General outlined four types of COVID-19 outbreaks occurring globally, [ ... ]

During its Monday media briefing, the WHO Director General outlined four types of COVID-19 outbreaks occurring globally, including countries that [1] responded rapidly and avoided large outbreaks, [2] brought large outbreaks under control, [3] overcame their first peak and are struggling with new peaks, and [4] are currently in the intense transmission phase. The last category presents the biggest immediate risk and includes ten countries that account for almost 80% of new infections, with half of these in the U.S. and Brazil alone. The rate of new infections in the U.S. does not appear to be slowing despite an increase in testing, with total cases expected to surpass 4 million this week. With over 2 million confirmed cases, the outbreak in Brazil continues to be a major concern, particularly in light of irregularities in official government figures. This led to a stand-off last month between Brazilian President Bolsonaro– who has been criticized for downplaying the pandemic despite testing positive for the virus last week – and the Supreme Court, which prompted one Justice to demand the government immediately “re-establish the daily dissemination of epidemiological data on the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The Red Cross Red Crescent has warned that South Asia is quickly becoming the next epicentre of the pandemic, with rapidly rising cases across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. With the second highest number of daily new cases and over 1.1 million confirmed infections, the outbreak in India is rapidly escalating. This includes the Delhi metropolitan area that is home to 25 million people and accounts for almost half of all cases in the country. The latest projection from MIT, still under peer review, warns that India could have the largest number of cases in the next six months, with modelling scenarios estimating up to 287,000 cases per day in the absence of stronger public health measures.
Across Africa, the number of COVID-19 infections surpassed 750,000 this week, as the over 15,000 mortalities over the past five months have now exceeded the total number of lives lost to the West African Ebola outbreak between 2014 and 2016. At least 22 African countries have seen the number of Coronavirus cases double in the last month, with at least 35 countries experiencing community transmission. With the largest number of cases on the continent, South Africa recently re-imposed a ban on the sale of alcohol to reduce avoidable injuries and the burden on hospitals, while tightening curfews and mask requirements. Fragile health systems in many countries on the continent are increasingly overwhelmed, according to the WHO Director for Africa, who called on governments and the international community to scale up public health measures such as testing, contact tracing and case isolation. There is particular fear of outbreaks among vulnerable populations such as humanitarian response locations, marginalized communities as well as elderly populations, who are on average ten times more at risk of death, although they only account for 20% of COVID-19 infections in Africa.
Countries that previously succeeded in containing the virus are meanwhile reporting resurgence in cases, such as Hong Kong where a third wave of outbreaks prompted renewed lockdowns and physical distancing measures. A paper in the BMJ shows how COVID-19 related mortalities in Mexico have also tripled since the country began to relax lockdowns in early June despite warnings by experts and local health officials questioning official figures by the government. The cost of a subsequent lockdown in OECD countries alone has been estimated at US$1.1 trillion in additional output losses this year, which would increase five-fold if an outbreak were to occur in early 2021.

The latest media briefing by the WHO warned that the global outlook has been “worsening” over the past week, with over 100,000 daily case reports in nine of the past ten days, as total confirmed cases surpass 7 million and total reported deaths approach half a million. One challenge has been complacency, as the WHO Technical Lead explains “people grow tired” which makes it difficult for governments to maintain or reintroduce public health and social distancing measures. As some regions like parts of Europe are beginning to see stabilizing or declining rates of new COVID-19 infection, Latin America has quickly become the ‘epicentre of the pandemic’. Of the 136,000 reported cases on Monday June 1, 2020, almost 75% came from just 10 countries, more than half of which were from Central and South American countries. The WHO Director General said he was “especially worried” given the large number of countries reporting rapidly increasing case and mortality rates straining health systems “from Mexico through to Chile.”

With almost 600,000 confirmed cases, Brazil has the second highest case count in the world following the U.S. With 2,600 deaths reported in just two days, the WHO Regional Office for the Americas, PAHO, warns that Brazil could see 88,000 deaths from COVID-19 by August unless the country takes drastic containment measures. Elsewhere in the world, Iran has reported more than 3,000 confirmed cases for a fourth consecutive day, raising concerns that the country may be experiencing a second wave of infections.

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Disruptions in anti-malaria programs could lead to surging incidence of malaria in endemic regions, according to the WHO. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, malaria deaths could jump to 769,000. In Nigeria’s Kano state, where local transmission of COVID-19 has been reported, officials have attributed a sharp increase in deaths due to malaria, diabetes and meningitis. The Democratic Republic of Congo has meanwhile requested international support as it faces three simultaneous medical emergencies with Ebola, measles, and COVID-19.

Médecins Sans Frontières described the “devil’s choice” that countries and aid organizations are confronted with in attempting to balance COVID-19 preparation and response, while maintaining vaccination programs. More than 117 million children are at risk of missing the measles vaccine as 21 countries so far have reported vaccine shortages due to travel and trade restrictions. The WHO has meanwhile requested additional air capacity due to supply disruptions, as the IMF and WTO held a joint briefing urging countries to lift trade restrictions on medical and food supplies.

A new study by the UN Fund for Population Activities warns that six months of lockdown could take a major toll on the rights of women and girls, and contribute to 31 million cases of gender-based violence and 7 million additional unintended pregnancies. Many countries have already reported significant spikes in domestic violence, including in Latin America where community organizations have described it as “another pandemic.” The UNAIDS also expressed ‘extreme concern’ about the targeting and abuse of LGBTI persons, including reports that government and religious leaders are spreading misinformation about COVID-19 that has incited violence and discrimination.

According to a paper in the Lancet, prisons remain a hotspot but “in no way equipped” to deal with COVID-19. Among the estimated 11 million global prison population, Human Rights Watch raised particular concerns about the conditions in Latin America where prisons remain overcrowded, and lack adequate sanitation and access to health services. Densely populated peri-urban environments such as slums and informal settlements are also acutely vulnerable, including Brazil’s favelas – home to an estimated 13 million people – where the absence of government support and lack of control measures have raised concerns of possible uncontrolled outbreaks. Human rights groups have also raised concerns about the lack of government support to indigenous communities in Brazil, contending with widespread infections and its economic impacts.

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The numbers continue to surge in the U.S., with at least 6,098 reported deaths and 245,442 confirmed cases, accounting for almost a quarter of all worldwide cases. New York State has become the epicentre of the outbreak with almost 100,000 confirmed cases, while the U.S. reported over 1,000 deaths for the second day in a row. In Canada, the number of confirmed cases has also increased to 11,283, including 173 reported deaths. With the outbreak expected to spread more widely across the continent over the next two weeks, there are increasing concerns over health care system capacities. The number of cases in South and Central American countries continue to grow, with reported cases in Brazil continuing to jump almost 20% a day to 8,044, while Chile and Ecuador have seen spikes to 3,404 and 3,163 cases, respectively.

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The U.S. has become the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, accounting for the highest number of cases worldwide (104,126), which represents an 18% increase between 27 and 28 March. Canada has also experienced a 15% increase over the last day, totalling 4,757 cases. The increase in case numbers in South and Central American countries are also noteworthy; Brazil is reporting more than 3,400 cases, and Ecuador and Chile are reporting more than 1,600 cases each.

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During its Monday media briefing, the WHO Director General outlined four types of COVID-19 outbreaks occurring globally, including countries that [1] responded rapidly and avoided large outbreaks, [2] brought large outbreaks under control, [3] overcame their first peak and are struggling with new peaks, and [4] are currently in the intense transmission phase. The last category presents the biggest immediate risk and includes ten countries that account for almost 80% of new infections, with half of these in the U.S. and Brazil alone. The rate of new infections in the U.S. does not appear to be slowing despite an increase in testing, with total cases expected to surpass 4 million this week. With over 2 million confirmed cases, the outbreak in Brazil continues to be a major concern, particularly in light of irregularities in official government figures. This led to a stand-off last month between Brazilian President Bolsonaro– who has been criticized for downplaying the pandemic despite testing positive for the virus last week – and the Supreme Court, which prompted one Justice to demand the government immediately “re-establish the daily dissemination of epidemiological data on the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The Red Cross Red Crescent has warned that South Asia is quickly becoming the next epicentre of the pandemic, with rapidly rising cases across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. With the second highest number of daily new cases and over 1.1 million confirmed infections, the outbreak in India is rapidly escalating. This includes the Delhi metropolitan area that is home to 25 million people and accounts for almost half of all cases in the country. The latest projection from MIT, still under peer review, warns that India could have the largest number of cases in the next six months, with modelling scenarios estimating up to 287,000 cases per day in the absence of stronger public health measures.
Across Africa, the number of COVID-19 infections surpassed 750,000 this week, as the over 15,000 mortalities over the past five months have now exceeded the total number of lives lost to the West African Ebola outbreak between 2014 and 2016. At least 22 African countries have seen the number of Coronavirus cases double in the last month, with at least 35 countries experiencing community transmission. With the largest number of cases on the continent, South Africa recently re-imposed a ban on the sale of alcohol to reduce avoidable injuries and the burden on hospitals, while tightening curfews and mask requirements. Fragile health systems in many countries on the continent are increasingly overwhelmed, according to the WHO Director for Africa, who called on governments and the international community to scale up public health measures such as testing, contact tracing and case isolation. There is particular fear of outbreaks among vulnerable populations such as humanitarian response locations, marginalized communities as well as elderly populations, who are on average ten times more at risk of death, although they only account for 20% of COVID-19 infections in Africa.
Countries that previously succeeded in containing the virus are meanwhile reporting resurgence in cases, such as Hong Kong where a third wave of outbreaks prompted renewed lockdowns and physical distancing measures. A paper in the BMJ shows how COVID-19 related mortalities in Mexico have also tripled since the country began to relax lockdowns in early June despite warnings by experts and local health officials questioning official figures by the government. The cost of a subsequent lockdown in OECD countries alone has been estimated at US$1.1 trillion in additional output losses this year, which would increase five-fold if an outbreak were to occur in early 2021.

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