WHO fears possible rise of COVID-19 infections during Sallah
WHO – The World Health Organisation Thursday fears the possible increase of COVID-19 infections during the Eid-el-Kabir holidays, reports say.
DailyTimes gathered that the organization also attributed the rise of the virus spread to an increase in social and religious gatherings due to the festive celebration.
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In a statement, the global health coordination agency through the WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, stated “As we approach the Eid Al Adha feast, there is also increased risk of transmission as a result of social and religious mass gatherings.
“Any decision to restrict, modify, postpone, cancel, or proceed with holding a mass gathering should be based on a standardised risk assessment, and should be part of a comprehensive approach taken by authorities to respond to the pandemic.”
Meanwhile, WHO revealed that under-reporting of cases is a challenge as testing for COVID-19 in Africa remains low by global benchmarks but capacity has expanded significantly.
It added that about 7.7 million tests had been performed in Africa since February.
“The number of tests performed per 10 000 population as of mid-July was below 100 in 43 countries out of the 54 assessed. This must improve,” the organisation said.
