WHO Hopes The Coronavirus Pandemic Will Be Over In Less Than 2 Years!
It's definitely not over.
The first case was identified in Wuhan, China in December of 2019. It wasn’t until early on in 2020 that people around the world realized that this was no ordinary bug.
Over the last eight months, nearly 23 million people worldwide have been infected with the virus, and over 800,000 lives were lost as a result, according to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced during a news conference in Geneva that we likely have another year-plus to go. Referencing the 1918 Spanish flu that took two years to overcome, the director of the WHO said, “We hope to finish the pandemic in less than two years.”
He also pointed out the differences between the Spanish flu and this pandemic. One is that due to a progression in technology and the ability for people to travel freely around the world, there is more potential for spread.
Media briefing on #COVID19 with @DrTedros https://t.co/p43NqC4m7C
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) August 21, 2020
WHO director points out that the worst of the Spanish flu came in the back half of 1918 and killed more people during that time.
Ghebreyesus warned that just because we have made progress over the last few months, the battle hasn’t been won. “Progress does not mean victory,” he said. “The fact remains that most people remain susceptible to this virus.”
He did note that there may be a silver lining to the pandemic: The world might become a better place.
