The World Health Organization (WHO) has disclosed that 10% of the world population may have been infected with the coronavirus.
Official of WHO cautions that vast majority of the world remains at risk of being infected with the virus. It was further stated that estimate is over 20 times higher than official tally of coronavirus cases.
These comments were made during a special session of the executive board to consider the follow-up to its previous meeting, in May, which passed a resolution to look into how the world and WHO responded to the pandemic.
The head of emergencies at the World Health Organization, Dr. Michael Ryan stated on Monday that its “best estimates” depicted that roughly 1 in 10 people worldwide may have been infected by the coronavirus, which is more than 20 times the number of confirmed cases.
Ryan who spoke during the special session said the figures vary from urban to rural, and between different groups, but that ultimately it means “the vast majority of the world remains at risk.”
He affirmed that the pandemic would continue to evolve, however, tools exist to suppress transmission and save lives.
“Our current best estimates tell us that about 10 percent of the global population may have been infected by this virus. However, many deaths have been averted and many more lives can be protected,” he said.
While speaking to the 34-member executive board who are majorly responsible for most of the funding, Ryan said Southeast Asia faced a surge in cases, Europe and the eastern Mediterranean were seeing an increase in deaths. Meanwhile, the situations in Africa and the Western Pacific were “rather more positive.”
The estimate which would amount to more than 760 million people based on a current world population of about 7.6 billion far outstrips the number of confirmed cases as tallied by both WHO and Johns Hopkins University, now more than 35 million worldwide.
Experts have once revealed that the number of confirmed cases greatly underestimates the true figure.
“The world is now heading into a difficult period. The disease continues to spread. It is on the rise in many parts of the world,” Ryan warned.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus led a moment of silence to honor victims as well as a round of applause for the health workers who have strived to save them.
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