“We’re in the early stages of the third wave,” the WHO warns, citing the Delta Surge as an example

Geneva: In the midst of the Delta surge, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued a warning to the world about the ‘early phases’ of COVID-19’s third wave.

He remarked, “Unfortunately, we are already in the early phases of a third wave.”

On Wednesday, the head of WHO said that Delta variant’s spread, along with increased social mobility and the inconsistent use of proven public health measures, is driving an increase in both case numbers and deaths.

Recalling the sustained decline in COVID-19 cases and deaths that was being driven, in recent months, by increasing vaccination rates in Europe and North America, he sounded alarms over the fresh reversal of that positive trend, reported UN News.

Meanwhile, said Tedros, the virus is continuing to evolve, resulting in more transmissible variants.

“The Delta variety is now in over 111 countries, and if it isn’t already, we expect it to become the main COVID-19 strain circulating worldwide soon,” he said.

Last week marked the fourth consecutive week of rising cases of COVID-19 globally, with increases recorded in all but one of WHO’s six regions. Deaths are also rising again, after 10 weeks of steady decline.

Tedros also drew the Emergency Committee on COVID-19’s attention to the ongoing “shocking disparity” in the global distribution of vaccines, as well as unequal access to life-saving tools, reported UN News.

He reiterated his concern that inequity has created a two-track pandemic – namely, one track for countries with the greatest access to vaccines, who are lifting restrictions and reopening their societies, and a second track for those without vaccines access who are left “at the mercy of the virus.”