WHO: pandemic is 'nowhere near over'

The leader of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Tuesday that the pandemic is “nowhere near over,” dashing hopes that a spike in global cases from the omicron meant a return to normal was close.

“In some countries, cases seem to have peaked, which gives hope that the worst of this latest wave is done with, but no country is out of the woods yet,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO.

WHO reported a 20 percent increase in new COVID-19 cases last week compared to a 50 percent increase the week before, which signals the spread may be leveling out.

That, combined with reports that omicron was less severe than previous coronavirus variants, had led to speculation that a turning point, or conclusion, to the pandemic was near. Tedros pushed back on this notion.  

"Omicron may be less severe — on average, of course — but the narrative that it is mild disease is misleading, hurts the overall response, and costs more lives," Tedros said. "Make no mistake, omicron is causing hospitalizations and deaths and even the less severe cases are inundating health facilities. The virus is circulating far too intensely with many still vulnerable."

This line of reasoning was echoed by Dr. Anthony Fauci, medical advisor to President Joe Biden, at the World Economic Forum on Monday.

"I would hope that that's the case, but that would only be the case if we don't get another variant that eludes the immune response,” Dr. Fauci said in response to a question about whether COVID-19 would soon transition from pandemic to endemic level, where the disease is a constant presence but doesn’t affect as many people.

Some European countries, like Spain, have shifted toward strategies with fewer mitigation measures and restrictions on travel.

"I think we have to evaluate the evolution of COVID to an endemic illness, from the pandemic we have faced up until now," Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said last week. The WHO has warned against this approach.