There have been seven weeks in a row of increasing COVID-19 cases, WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at today's briefing.
''In January and February, the world saw six consecutive weeks of declining coronavirus cases. We have now seen seven consecutive weeks of increasing cases and four weeks of increasing deaths,'' the WHO Chief said in his opening remark.
Ghebreyesus stressed that the novel virus is a far cry from the ordinary flu, and experts are still unaware of its long-term consequences.
Following the Worldometers' latest data, the number of worldwide coronavirus cases stands at 136,832,702, while the death toll is at 2,952,363. A total of 1110,031,696 have so far recovered.
The WHO labeled the novel virus a pandemic on 11 March 2020, with its outbreak starting in China in December of 2019. On 21 January, China confirmed that the new coronavirus is contagious and declared quarantine in its two cities.
