COVID-19 declining in Europe but rising in other parts of world: WHO

While COVID-19 cases are declining in Europe, America is bearing the brunt of the global pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, noting that North and South America currently have four of the 10 worst-hit countries in the world. Expressing concern over the situation in Brazil and Mexico, the WHO's top emergency expert Mike Ryan said the disease was "highly active" in Central and South America. READ | WHO Concerned About Virus Impact On Women, Youth Addressing a press briefing, Ryan said that Brazil has emerged as one of the global hot-spots for the virus, with COVID-19 cases on the rise in heavily-populated cities. The country's health system was "still coping", although some intensive care units were under heavy pressure with more than 90 percent bed occupancy rates, Ryan noted. Meanwhile, Mexico has nearly 130,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 15,000 deaths, the WHO informed. Brazil stands as the second worst-hit country in the world, with over 800,000 cases and 41,000 deaths. Both countries are behind the United States, the country with the highest record of infections -- more than 2 million cases and nearly 114,000 deaths. READ | Europe Reopens Borders Amid Worst Global Recession In Memory 'Europe still not safe' Mike Ryan also acknowledged that several countries are facing troubles in relaxing the lockdown measures due to the rise in COVID-19 positive cases. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for vigilance against the dangerous virus even in regions where it appeared to be on the decline. He said even Europe cannot be called safe at the moment because the virus can resurface in the country. Amid concerns that some countries could hoard any vaccines developed to treat COVID-19, Tedros stated firmly that any vaccine or drug should be shared fairly between countries to overcome the pandemic. Vaccines should be made available for the global public good, to ensure everyone has fair access to any life-saving products that are developed, Tedros said. READ | WHO Recommends Breastfeeding, Says Its Benefits Outweigh Risks Of COVID-19 Transmission READ | Some States Hit Pause, Others Press On Amid Spike In Virus

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COVID-19 declining in Europe but rising in other parts of world: WHO

While COVID-19 cases are declining in Europe, US is bearing the brunt of the global pandemic, WHO said noting that 4 of the 10 worst-hit nations are in the West

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