THE threat of Covid-19 is far from over. While several countries are moving towards easing restrictions and lockdowns, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a fresh warning saying global death toll from Corona Virus could more than double to two million before a successful vaccine is widely used and could be even higher without concerted action to curb the pandemic.
The number of confirmed deaths some nine months since the new coronavirus was detected has almost reached one million while overall more than 32.5 million infections have been registered. And as the warning of the World Body cannot be overlooked, it really suggests the world is not out of woods yet. The situation really warrants concerted efforts to put a stop to rising number of deaths and infections from the virus as well as accelerate efforts for development of vaccine. There is no need to be complacent at all. Until and unless the vaccine is developed, efforts must be focused towards ensuring compliance of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) including social distancing at markets, educational institutions and places of work to avoid terrible figure of deaths predicted by the WHO.
Mike Ryan, head of the UN agency’s emergencies programme, told a briefing the other day that indoor gatherings of people of all ages are driving the rise in cases. Certainly without cooperation of the people, this battle cannot be won and they need to act with maturity and responsibility for their own safety as well as those of others. The WHO has been at the heart of the battle against Corona virus since the first reported outbreak, timely guiding the countries how to effectively respond to the challenge and it continues to fulfil its responsibility. It is unfortunate that some elements chose to target the world body for their ulterior motives. Anyway, it is for all countries of the world to fully cooperate with each other to guarantee fast and equitable access globally to Covid-19 vaccines.
Responsibility also rests with developed world and financial institutions to extend maximum support to developing countries to withstand the economic impact of the pandemic. As suggested by Prime Minister Imran Khan in his address to the UN General Assembly, the G-20 countries must extend and expand debt relief for developing countries like Pakistan plus create a special fund to help them revive their economies and improve their health infrastructures so that they could better deal with such a situation in future.
