The world should be able to rein in the COVID-19 pandemic in less than two years, the WHO has said, as South Korea reported the most daily infections since early March and expanded social distancing measures across the country.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus struck a partly optimistic note when he drew comparisons between the COVID-19 pandemic and the 1918 flu pandemic, saying technology could help end the spread.
“We have a disadvantage of globalization, closeness, connectedness, but an advantage of better technology, so we hope to finish this pandemic before less than two years,” he told reporters.
By “utilizing the available tools to the maximum and hoping that we can have additional tools like vaccines, I think we can finish it in a shorter time than the 1918 flu,” he said.
The WHO also recommended that children over 12 use masks in the same situations as adults, as the use of face coverings helps stop the virus’ spread.
In fresh guidelines developed in cooperation with UNICEF, it said children should wear “a mask under the same conditions as adults, in particular when they cannot guarantee at least a 1m distance from others and there is widespread transmission in the area.”
The advice came as South Korea yesterday reported 332 new cases, including 315 local infections.
The figure is the highest since March 8, when it recorded 367 infections.
All of the country’s 17 major cities and provinces reported cases for the first time since January, Yonhap news agency reported.
It said that stricter social distancing rules would be imposed outside the greater Seoul area, from today.
The government had previously raised social distancing rules in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi province to level two in the three-tier system.
Karaoke bars, clubs and computer cafes were ordered to close and Sunday church services have been banned.
South Africa’s COVID-19 infections on Friday passed 600,000, although the number of new cases has been declining since a peak last month.
Despite imposing one of the world’s toughest lockdowns at the end of March, when the country had only a few hundred cases, South Africa saw a surge in infections that has left it the hardest hit on the continent.
The South African Ministry of Health said in a statement that the country had 603,338 cases and 12,843 deaths — accounting for more than half of the continent’s cases and about 47 percent of its deaths.
Brazil reported 30,355 new cases of COVID-19 and 1,054 deaths, the Brazilian Ministry of Health said on Friday.
The country has recorded nearly 6,900 deaths and more than 290,000 cases in the past seven days, the WHO said.
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