A semblance of normalcy, which had lingered on the horizon for more than a month as Covid-19 cases declined across the world, has been shattered with reports of a spike in new infections last week. The situation prompted a World Health Organisation spokesperson to say on Friday that the end of the Covid-19 pandemic was a long way off. Asked by a journalist at a Geneva media briefing about the timing of the pandemic’s end, Margaret Harris said it was “far from over”. “We are definitely in the middle of the pandemic,” she added.
A combination of factors was causing the increases, including the highly transmissible Omicron variant and its cousin the BA.2 sub-variant, and the lifting of public health and social measures, according to the WHO. The UN health agency has previously said that the acute phase of the pandemic could end this year but it would depend on how quickly the target to vaccinate 70% of the population in each country is met, among other factors.
Coincidentally, Moderna last Thursday sought emergency use authorisation from US health regulators for a second Covid-19 booster shot, as a surge in cases in some parts of the world fuels fears of another wave of the pandemic. The US biotechnology company said its request covered all adults over 18 so that the appropriate use of an additional booster dose of its vaccine, including for those at higher risk of Covid-19 due to age or co-morbidities, could be determined by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and health care providers.
The Chinese commercial hub of Shanghai is pushing ahead with a mass testing initiative as it tries to curb a new spike in Covid-19 infections, but some districts were easing lockdown rules in an effort to minimise disruptions. The city, home to about 25mn people, saw symptomatic local community infections hit 57 on March 17, with another 203 domestically transmitted asymptomatic cases, up from eight and 150 respectively a day earlier. Older people in China should get vaccinated against Covid-19, senior Chinese health officials said on Friday, adding that deaths among the elderly in the latest wave to hit Hong Kong serve as a lesson for the mainland. Hong Kong reported about 20,000 new coronavirus cases on Friday.
China has been battling its worst Covid outbreak since the virus first emerged in Wuhan in 2020. It reported 2,388 new local cases with confirmed symptoms on March 17, almost double the count a day earlier. The outbreak is small by international standards and analysts have been debating how much China’s uncompromising “zero-Covid” response will hurt the economy at home and in the world at large.
Last Friday also saw the Pacific island nation of Samoa sealing its borders as it prepared to enter a nationwide lockdown after recording its first case of Covid-19 in the community. The government issued an emergency order suspending all international travel by air and sea in the wake of the positive case, which was detected Thursday on the main island of Upolu. The nation of about 200,000 has been one of the few places to avoid local transmission of Covid-19 during the global pandemic, recording 48 cases at the border. About 90% of Samoa’s population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to government data. Going by the trend across the world, it is advisable to continue the precautionary and preventive measures against the pandemic.