WHO Chief Tedros hopes to see world free from COVID-19 completely in 2 years

World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hopes that the world can get rid of the coronavirus pandemic in less than two years - lesser time than it took to stop the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic.

‘The world can end the coronavirus pandemic in less than two years’, Tedros, said while addressing the reporters from the WHO's headquarters in Geneva, insisting that it should be possible to tame the novel coronavirus spread faster than the deadly 1918 pandemic.

Calling the COVID- 19 pandemic 'once-in-a-century health crisis' Tedros, asserted that globalisation had allowed the virus to spread quicker than the Spanish flu did in 1918, there was also now the technology to stop it that hadn’t been available a century ago. He said by utilising the available tools to the maximum and additional tools like vaccines can finish the virus spread in a shorter time than the 1918 flu.

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Tedro's comments came at the time when the global coronavirus figures have reached 22.5 million and the death cases have reached close to 8 lakh mark. The total number of cases stood at 22,593,363 and the fatalities rose to 792,396 across the globe. The United States continues to be the worst affected country with the highest number of caseloads and deaths. The country has reported 5,573,501 cases and 173,114 deaths so far. Meanwhile, Brazil and India are next in the list with 3,501,975 and 2,905,823 cases respectively.

READ | Tedros: 'Never too late' to control virus outbreak

WHO's emergencies chief Dr Michael Ryan said that the 1918 pandemic hit the globe in three distinct waves. During the second wave, which started at the fall of 1918, was the most devastating, he added. However, he said it didn't appear COVID-19 was following the same pattern.

"This virus is not displaying a similar wave-like pattern. When the virus is not under control, it jumps straight back up", Ryan said. He further added that while pandemic viruses often settle into a seasonal pattern, that didn't appear to be the case for the coronavirus.

READ | WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calls COVID-19 pandemic 'once-in-a-century' crisis

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(With inputs from Agency)

'Hope to finish COVID-19 pandemic in less than two years' says WHO chief Tedros