WHO warns pandemic at ‘critical point’

WHO warns pandemic at ‘critical point’

LONDON: The COVID-19 pandemic has entered a critical phase as infections exponentially increase despite widespread measures aimed at stopping them, the WHO warned yesterday with record case numbers in South Asia triggering tough new restrictions. However Britons enjoyed the freedoms of a pint and a haircut for the first time in months as curbs eased, illustrating how fast-vaccinating countries are leaving other “” mostly poorer “” nations behind. The coronavirus has already killed more than 2.9 million people and infected nearly 136 million across the world.

But the World Health Organization's technical lead on COVID-19 Maria Van Kerkhove said "the trajectory of this pandemic is growing“¦ exponentially.“ "This is not the situation we want to be in 16 months into a pandemic, when we have proven control measures,“ she told reporters, adding "we are in a critical point of the pandemic right now“. India yesterday overtook Brazil as the country with the second-highest number of infections, after logging more than 168,000 new cases in a single day. The recent, rapid increase of infections has taken India's total number of cases to 13.5 million, above Brazil's 13.48 million.

'Nobody follows the rules'

"The solution is for everyone to stay home for two months and