GENEVA, SwitzerlandThe IFEMA center in Madrid, Spain, was converted into the largest field hospital in Europe.
The number of COVID-19
infections globally has surpassed the 9 million mark, according to the latest
data from U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.
The figure comes as the World Health Organization warns
that the number of new daily cases is worryingly on the rise.
The data shows that death toll from the disease has now
exceeded 468,000.
The United States remains the most affected country by the
pandemic, having recorded 2,286,457 infections and 120,036 deaths as of Monday
afternoon.
The figures represent 25.4% of the world’s infections and
25.6% of the global fatalities.
Other than the U.S., Brazil is the only other country that
has recorded more than one million infections, standing at 1,083,341 as of
Monday afternoon.
In his briefing on Monday, WHO Director-General Tedros
Adhanom urged countries to “be careful and creative in finding solutions that
enable people to stay safe while getting on with their lives.”
“It seems that almost every day we reach a new and grim
record. Yesterday, more than 183,000 new cases of COVID-19 were reported to WHO
– easily the most in a single day so far,” he noted.
Adhanom also noted that the fight against the disease had
received a boost following the recent findings that the steroid dexamethasone
has life-saving potential for critically ill COVID-19 patients.
He called for an increase in production and distribution of
the steroid with a focus on the most affected regions.
But he also warned against using the drug to people who
were not critically ill.
“WHO emphasizes that dexamethasone should only be used for patients with severe or critical disease, under close clinical supervision. There is no evidence this drug works for patients with mild disease or as a preventative measure, and it could cause harm,” he said. - Africa
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