No Return To 'Old Normal' In Near Future, Says WHO Chief

WHO HQ in Geneva. Credit: Thorkild Tylleskar. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

The World Health Organization on Monday warned that the pandemic is worsening globally and that "there will be no return to the old normal for the foreseeable future as COVID-19 cases globally going past the 13 million figure." The pandemic has killed more than half a million people, and the World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanon Ghebreyesus said there would be no return to the "old normal" for the foreseeable future, especially if preventive measures are neglected.

“Let me be blunt, too many countries are headed in the wrong direction; the virus remains public enemy number one. If the basics aren't followed, there is only one way this pandemic is going to go. It's going to get worse and worse and worse. There will be no return to the old normal for the foreseeable future." said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a virtual briefing.

Many countries across the world are facing a second wave of the pandemic, The United Kingdom faces a potentially more deadly second wave of COVID-19 in the coming winter that could kill up to 120,000 people over nine months in a worst-case scenario. Country-wise, the United States remains the worst affected country. It has recorded over 60,000 cases in a day and now has 3,363,056 cases as per the John Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Centre.