“Worse pandemics could lie ahead, this is a wake-up call” : WHO

The novel coronavirus has had a devastating impact around the globe, but the World Health Organization warned Monday that worse pandemics could lie ahead, urging the world to get “serious” about preparedness.

“This is a wakeup call,” WHO emergencies chief Michael Ryan told reporters at a briefing marking a year since the UN agency first learned of the new virus spreading in China.

Since then, Covid-19 has killed nearly 1.8 million people around the world, out of over 80 million infected.

“This pandemic has been very severe,” Ryan acknowledged.