Decreased interest in the fight against the coronavirus could lead to the emergence of a new, deadly species. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of the World Health Organization, warns against this. It is true, according to him, that 90 percent of the world’s population has now acquired some degree of immunity, but that does not mean that countries can sit back and relax.

For example, reducing the number of tests and vaccinations could create “the ideal conditions for a new variant of concern that could cause significant mortality,” Tedros said. WHO calls on countries to continue to encourage high-risk groups to vaccinate, such as people over 60 and people with underlying complaints.

Two months ago, Tedros said that the end of the Corona pandemic In sightIn the most optimistic press conference about Corona that he has held so far. He also said today: “We are close to the point where the emergency phase of the epidemic ends, but we are not there yet.”

His remarks come at a time when the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in China is increasing. The number of recorded infections also increased slightly in the UK for the first time since October.

Last week, China witnessed unprecedented fierce protests against Beijing’s strict policy on Corona. Since then, corona measures have been eased in a number of regions and appear to be the same for the rest of the country relax to be in preparation.

A senior WHO official said today that he was “delighted” about it. “It is very important that governments listen to the population when there is suffering,” said the WHO official.

Relatively few elderly people in China have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. It is estimated that about two-thirds of people over the age of 80 have been infected by less effective vaccines developed in China.

Some health officials fear that the lifting of Corona measures in the country will lead to a wave of hospitalizations and deaths. Because infected areas were always closed off, people gained little immunity.