The World Health Organization has stressed the need for countries to take a comprehensive approach to try and get out of the coronavirus pandemic as the number of new cases worldwide surged beyond 160,000 every day in the past week.
In a virtual briefing Wednesday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said over half of all cases recorded since COVID-19 first emerged in China late last year were registered in June.
The highest number of new infections recorded was on June 28, when more than 189,500 cases were registered across the globe, according to data provided by the United Nations health agency.
Dr. Tedros said all must be done to find, isolate, test and care for every case, trace and quarantine every contact, equip and train health workers and educate and empower communities to protect themselves and others.
He also expressed concern some countries have not used all the tools at their disposal and have taken a fragmented approach.
He said, "We must act in the interests of global solidarity and our shared humanity."
Dr. Tedros warned earlier this week that the pandemic is "not even close to being over."
So far, the coronavirus has infected more than 10.5 million people and killed over 511,000.
<Photo: Yonhap News>
