COVID-19 pandemic can be overcome quickly with right measures: WHO

The global COVID-19 pandemic can be overcome quickly if countries use the right tools, the head of the World Health Organisation said on Monday but warned that if those tools were not used it would remain for a long time.

"If we use the tools we have at hand properly, we can end it soon," WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during the Financial Times' online Africa summit, adding a vaccine was expected late 2020 or early next year.

"If we don't use the tools we have at hand properly, then it could linger with us, it could stay with us for a very long period," he said.

According to the WHO data, there are 3,74,62,986 confirmed COVID-19 cases globally. And the virus has led to 10,76,595 deaths. America tops the list with 77,61,673 cases followed by India at the second spot. At third is Brazil with 50,94,979 cases. 

As of Oct 12, 2020, there are about 7,120,538 confirmed COVID-19 cases in India out of which 109,150 people have died due to the infection while 6,149,535 have recovered from this dreaded disease.

According to the data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India on October 12 observed a single-day spike of 66,732 new Coronavirus cases with 816 deaths in the same period.

The dreaded Coronavirus causes illnesses like common cold to more severe diseases such as acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The novel coronavirus affects humans and is belied to have originated in Wuhan, China in late 2019.