WHO warns of rising COVID-19 deaths

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) today said the group is tracking a worrying rise in deaths in most of the world's regions, urging countries not to give up in the battle against the more transmissible Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant.In another development, the WHO today called attention to the burden COVID-19 medical waste is putting on health systems and suggested ways to safely and sustainably reduce and manage healthcare waste.Circulation still intense, raising fatalitiesAt a briefing today, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said since Omicron was first detected 10 weeks ago, nearly 90 million more COVID-19 cases have been reported to the WHO, more than the total for 2020.In the wake of the avalanche of cases, officials are now tracking a very worrying rise in deaths, he said. "We're concerned that a narrative has taken hold in some countries that because of vaccines, and because of Omicron’s high transmissibility and lower severity, preventing transmission is no longer possible, and no longer necessary.

Nothing could be further from the truth."After today's briefing, Maria Van Kerkhove, PhD, the WHO's technical lead for COVID-19, said on Twitter that last week more than 63,337 people died from COVID-19.

And though some may be ready to move on from the pandemic, those who have died and the families they left behind cannot, she added."I know everyone wants to get back to 'normal,' but this level of intense circulation and death is not 'normal.' It's not a global situation that should be accepted nor tolerated when we have the tools to change the course of this pandemic," she said.Tedros said the WHO isn't calling for more lockdowns but it is urging countries to use all the measures they