COVID pandemic is nowhere near over: WHO chief

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Tuesday warned the world that fresh waves of COVID-19 cases show that the pandemic is "nowhere near over."

In a media briefing on COVID-19, the WHO chief said, "I am concerned that cases of COVID-19 continue to rise - putting further pressure on stretched health systems and health workers - and deaths are unacceptably high."

He urged governments to regularly review and adjust their COVID19 response plans based on the current epidemiology and also the potential for new variants to appear.

The Emergency Committee on COVID-19 met last week and concluded that the virus remains a public health emergency of international concern. "Sub-variants of Omicron, like BA.4 and BA.5, continue to drive waves of cases, hospitalisation and death around the world," said WHO chief.