Potential Emergence of a New Dangerous COVID-19 Strain, WHO Warns

Currently, favorable conditions exist globally for the emergence of a more dangerous strain of the coronavirus. This was stated by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"Essentially, ideal conditions have been created for the emergence of a more dangerous and more transmissible strain of the coronavirus," he said during the Munich Security Conference.

The WHO chief noted that the widespread prevalence of the Omicron strain and information about the milder course of the disease have led to "dangerous" predictions regarding the end of the pandemic. However, according to him, it is still too early to discuss this.

Ghebreyesus highlighted that 70,000 people die from coronavirus each week around the world, health care systems are overwhelmed, and observations of the virus's evolution are insufficient.

At the same time, the WHO chief emphasized that the global community possesses all the tools and innovations necessary to help combat the pandemic.

He also called for lessons to be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.