WHO: Coronavirus may 'never go away'

The pandemic has spread worldwide with 4.3 million positive cases and 300 thousand deaths. The vaccine must be available for everyone, even for poor countries. Coronavirus is now widespread across Africa. So far it has caused 70,000 infected and 2,389 dead. By the end of 2020, 34.3 million people below the poverty line.

Geneva (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The coronavirus that causes the Covid-19 pandemic "may never go away" and become endemic like HIV says Mike Ryan, head of the emergency sector in the World Health Organization (WHO).

Speaking in a meeting with reporters yesterday, he also warned that even if a vaccine is found, a "huge effort" will be needed to control the virus.

The alert for coronavirus that officially started in Wuhan (Hubei, China) in January is now widespread across the globe and has infected more than 4.3 million people. The death toll is almost 300 thousand dead.

Ryan's warning comes as many countries, from China to Japan, from Europe to the United States, are under pressure to reduce or remove the "lockdown", the quarantine to resume trade and save many jobs.

WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there is no guarantee that reducing the quarantine will not trigger new waves of infections. But he still claimed that it is possible to control the virus with some effort.

Ryan also highlighted that the future vaccine must be available to everyone, especially those countries that don't have a strong healthcare system. The concern of the UN body is above all for Africa, where there is a lack of health facilities and medical personnel. There are now cases of coronavirus in all 54 African countries. At the beginning of May, out of a population of 1.3 billion, Africa had 39,000 positive cases and 1,640 deaths. After less than two weeks, on 12 May, there were 70 thousand positive cases and deaths almost doubled (2389).

In addition to the health crisis, an economic crisis is preparing. The UN predicts that due to the pandemic, the world economy will shrink by 3.2%. By the end of 2020, at least 34.3 million people will fall below the line of extreme poverty. A further 130 million will be added by 2030, undermining the global effort to eradicate poverty and hunger.