Coronavirus will be with us for a long time: WHO chief

The World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday said that coronavirus will remain with us for a long time and said that the body declared it a global pandemic at the 'right time'.

"Make no mistake: we have a long way to go. This virus will be with us for a long time. Looking back, I think we declared the emergency at the right time on January 30," he added.

Tedros said that while the cases are increasing in Africa and the Central and South America, many countries that thought they had succeeded in containing COVID-19 are witnessing a resurgence in cases.

"Most of the epidemics in western Europe appear to be stable or declining. Although numbers are low, we see worrying upward trends in Africa, Central and South America, and eastern Europe. Most countries are still in the early stages of their epidemics. And some that were affected early in the pandemic are now starting to see a resurgence in cases," the WHO chief said.

Talking about US President Donald Trump's decision to freeze the funding of WHO, Tedros expressed hope that the administration would reconsider it, but also stressed that his focus is on containing the coronavirus pandemic.

"I hope the freezing of the funding will be reconsidered and the US will once again support WHO's work and continue to save lives. I hope the US believes that this an important investment, not just to help others but for the US to stay safe also," Tedros said.

As of 7:00 AM on Thursday, COVID-19 has globally infected over 26.26 lakh people and killed over 1.83 lakh people, as per the data provided by Johns Hopkins University.

The US has been the worst affected county where over 8 lakh people have confirmed the infection.