WHO chief: World may be tired, but virus ‘not tired of us’

GENEVA — The World Health Organization’s chief calls on everyone to keep fighting COVID-19, warning that, while we may be sick of battling the pandemic, the virus is “not tired of us.”

Speaking to WHO’s main annual assembly, which resumed today after being cut short in May, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also hails the election of Joe Biden as the next US president, voicing hope it could signal tighter global cooperation to end the pandemic.

It was vital, he says, for people to follow the science and resist the urge to turn a blind eye to the virus.

“We might be tired of COVID-19. But it is not tired of us,” he says.

Tedros, speaking from quarantine after coming in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, warns that the virus preys on weakness.

“It preys on those in weaker health, but it preys on other weaknesses too: inequality, division, denial, wishful thinking, and willful ignorance,” he says.

“We cannot negotiate with it, nor close our eyes and hope it goes away.”

“It pays no heed to political rhetoric or conspiracy theories,” he says.

“Our only hope is science, solutions, and solidarity.”

His comment comes after COVID-19 has killed more than 1.25 million people and infected over 50 million worldwide, since it first surfaced in China late last year.

— AFP