‘Increasingly Blind On COVID Due To Falling Testing Rates, Reporting’ Says WHO Chief

The head of the World Health Organization, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that countries around the world are “blind” to how the virus is spreading because of falling rates of testing, and urged countries to step up surveillance of cases. He said at a press conference in Geneva that "As many countries reduce testing, WHO is receiving less & less information about transmission and sequencing,” adding that “"This makes us increasingly blind to patterns of transmission and evolution."

The WHO’s emergency committee on COVID-19 has declared that the virus remains a public health threat. Many countries, with the notable exception of China, are relaxing restrictions and public health measures, and this means that the pandemic is far from over, say the body’s experts. The international body still classifies COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), its highest level of warning.  

The emergency committee on the pandemic meets every three months to discuss the pandemic situation and reports to the WHO head.

The chairperson of the committee, Dr. Didier Houssin, said that "The situation is far from over with regard to the Covid-19 pandemic, the circulation of the virus is still very active, mortality remains high and the virus is evolving in an unpredictable way”, reiterating that testing, reporting, public health measures, and vaccination coverage remain a priority in fighting the virus.

COVID Cases Show Uptick In India, China’s Lockdown Continues

Administration in various parts of Indi have reintroduced rules on wearing masks as India sees an  uptick in COVID cases, with 643 new cases in the past 24 hours, and the maximum, 340, being reported from Delhi. The weekly average number of cases has begun rising since the beginning of April, reaching 2,081 on April 25^th as against 1,286 On Aril 1^st.

29,609  new cases of COVID-19 were reported from China, representing a sharp climb upwards since March 1^st when the number was 355. On March 19^th, there were 2 deaths recorded, as opposed to 52 on April 26^th. Cina has imposed a strict lockdown in Shanghai and other regions as it pursues a stringent ‘Zero COVID’ policy.