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WHO: COVID end ‘in sight,’ deaths at lowest since March 2020

Published:Wednesday | September 14, 2022 | 12:56 PM
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a medical worker takes a swab sample from a resident for a nucleic acid test at a community testing site for COVID-19 in Yunyan District of Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Sept. 5, 2022. (Yang Wenbin/Xinhua via AP)

GENEVA (AP) — The head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday that the number of coronavirus deaths worldwide last week was the lowest reported in the pandemic since March 2020, marking what could be a turning point in the years-long global outbreak.

At a press briefing in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the world has never been in a better position to stop COVID-19.

“We are not there yet, but the end is in sight,” he said, comparing the effort to that made by a marathon runner nearing the finish line.

“Now is the worst time to stop running,” he said.

“Now is the time to run harder and make sure we cross the line and reap all the rewards of our hard work.”

In its weekly report on the pandemic, the WHO said deaths fell by 22% in the past week, at just over 11,000 reported worldwide.

There were 3.1 million new cases, a drop of 28%, continuing a weeks-long decline in the disease in every part of the world.

Still, the WHO warned that relaxed COVID testing and surveillance in many countries means that many cases are going unnoticed.

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