MOSCOW, Nov 10 — Deaths caused by COVID-19 globally have decreased by almost 90 per cent compared with February, although the rates of testing and vaccination remain low, Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
“Just over 9,400 COVID-19 deaths were reported to WHO last week. Almost 90 per cent less than in February of this year, when weekly deaths topped 75,000,” Tedros said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
He added that the international community had achieved some success in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and lower mortality rates are naturally “cause for optimism,” but there is still much more space for improvement, so governments and individuals should remain vigilant.
“Testing and sequencing rates remain low globally, vaccination gaps remain wide, and the continued proliferation of new variants remain concerning. WHO continue to urge caution, and we continue to urge everyone to be fully vaccinated,” the WHO chief said.
As of November 9, there have been a total of 630 million WHO-confirmed COVID-19 cases globally, including 6.5 million deaths.
