THE World Health Organization said new coronavirus cases increased globally for the first time in seven weeks, and officials expressed concern that cases could again rise significantly.
“We need to have a stern warning for all of us that this virus will rebound if we let it,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead for COVID-19, said Monday at a news briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the rise in cases occurred in four regions: the Americas, the eastern Mediterranean, Europe and Southeast Asia. He said the development was “disappointing but not surprising” and said part of the spike appeared to be the result of the “relaxing of public health measures.”
Michael Ryan, director of WHO’s emergencies program, said, “Right now, the virus is very much in control” and it was “unrealistic” to think the pandemic might be stopped by the end of
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