World won’t vanquish virus this year: WHO

It is unrealistic to think the world will be done with the COVID-19 pandemic by the end of the year, the World Health Organization warned on March 1.

WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said it might however be possible to take the tragedy out of the coronavirus crisis by reducing hospitalizations and deaths.

But the virus remains in control, he added, especially given that global new case numbers increased last week after six consecutive weeks of decline.

"It will be very premature, and I think unrealistic, to think that we're going to finish with this virus by the end of the year," Ryan told journalists.

"But I think what we can finish with, if we're smart, is the hospitalizations, the deaths and the tragedy associated with this pandemic."

Ryan said that vaccinating front-line health care workers and those most vulnerable to severe disease would "take the fear... out of the pandemic".

But he added that recent progress could not be taken for granted and "right now the virus is very much in control".

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said new case numbers rose last week in Europe, the Americas, southeast Asia and the eastern Mediterranean.

"This is disappointing, but not surprising," he said.

"Some of it appears to be due to relaxing of public health measures, continued circulation of variants, and people letting down their guard.

"Vaccines will help to save lives, but if countries rely solely on vaccines, they're making a mistake. Basic public health measures remain the foundation of the response."

Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's COVID-19 technical lead, added: "If the last week tells us anything, it's that this virus will rebound if we let it - and we cannot let it."