According to the WHO’s weekly epidemiological report released on Tuesday, the number of new cases reported worldwide between March 21 and March 27 fell by 14 percent compared to the previous week. Each region fell, including the Americas and the Eastern Mediterranean, where they fell 14% and 32%, respectively. While this may sound like good news, the report notes that the reduction in cases should be “interpreted with caution” because many countries have reduced testing capacity. “Many countries are gradually changing their COVID-19 testing strategies, resulting in a lower overall number of tests performed and consequently a smaller number of cases detected. “Despite the general decline in the SARS-CoV-2 test rate observed in the six WHO areas, the number of new weekly cases rose again in early to mid-March, indicating that the virus is currently circulating at very high levels.” The report expressed concern about a “significant reduction” in COVID-19 testing in many unnamed countries, and said the data were “gradually” becoming less representative, less relevant and less robust. “This hinders our collective ability to monitor where the virus is located, how it is spreading and how it is evolving: information and analysis that remains critical to effectively ending the acute phase of the pandemic.” COVID-19 testing has been declining in Canada since the beginning of the year and is now returning to 2020 levels. The country’s seven-day moving average for testing was 41,548 on March 28, a number not seen since July 2020. In BC, laboratory tests have been steadily declining since December. Since the beginning of February, the number of laboratory tests performed in one day in BC. did not exceed 10,000. In addition, the number of new cases in BC each day is probably much higher than reported by the provincial government due to limited access to PCR tests – the only method included in official county case reports. The WHO report also warned countries not to limit testing and other surveillance measures, saying it was too early, reducing their ability to detect new variants and reducing response efforts. “Uncertainty about the characteristics of emerging variants limits our ability to predict with certainty the behavior of this disease, as the rate of progression and the risk of emerging variants are still high, which could undermine prevention and mitigation measures.” , the report states, adding. “Until we reach the end of the acute phase of the pandemic, countries must maintain adequate epidemiological surveillance.”
Reducing transmission is the key, WHO officials say
During a press conference Wednesday, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO ‘s chief technician for COVID-19, said countries should continue to focus on reducing transmission. “If we do not continue to focus on reducing the spread, we will continue to see further evolution of the virus and the future of future variants is uncertain. It could be more serious, it could be less serious and we need to be prepared for all that.” “, he said. Many countries are struggling to “get themselves out” of their current situation, Van Kerkhove said. He also said that COVID-19, especially the BA.2 variant, continues to be available at a rapid pace despite changes in testing and surveillance. “We are in the third year of this pandemic and this virus has a lot of energy. It is circulating at such a high level,” he said. “There are at least 10 to 11 million new cases reported each week and we know they are underestimated because surveillance has changed and trials have stopped or been significantly reduced in some countries.” Dr Mike Ryan, director of the WHO Health Emergency Program, said the reproductive number of COVIDs had risen by more than one in many countries, causing new cases to rise. He also said that when countries open and remove most of the restrictions, there is almost always a recovery in the new COVID-19 cases. “Opening up quickly and removing almost all the restrictions almost certainly leads to a recovery in infections, the question is what impact this recovery will have,” Ryan said. “We have seen the impact of the BA.2 subcategory on Asia and increased transmissibility. We are now seeing some increased pressure in Europe due to this virus, having this extra degree of transmissibility and many re-infections.” Although the virus may be “milder” due to more people being vaccinated, Ryan said there is still a reasonable possibility the increased transmission could lead to additional pressure on the healthcare system. “Every government needs to see this. They need to make some choices about it and what they advise people to do,” he said. “What we hope governments do not do is shift this individual responsibility to individuals and not support people who want to continue to take precautions, especially the very people who may be vulnerable.” However, Ryan said that everyone should make their own choice about risk. “I will continue to wear my mask on bus number eight when I come to work and I believe that everyone has to make their own decision about the risk and the possibility of exposing others.” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that it seems that the best-case scenario in the future is a situation where less severe variants occur that do not require the use of booster or new vaccines. The worst-case scenario, he said, would be a situation where a more infectious and highly contagious variant would emerge that avoids vaccines and kills people. “Addressing this situation would require a major overhaul of existing vaccines and ensuring that they reach people who are most vulnerable to serious illness,” he said. In order for the world to move forward and “end the acute phase” of the pandemic this year, Dr Tetros said countries would need to invest in key areas such as surveillance, laboratories and public health intelligence, as well as research and development. . He also said that basic tools such as masking and hand washing should also be continued if people want to get out of the pandemic. “We have all the tools we need to bring this pandemic under control,” he said. “We can prevent transmission through masks, hand hygiene and ventilation and we can save lives by ensuring that everyone has access to tests, treatments and vaccines.” [email protected] Follow @npescod
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title: “Who Warns Countries Not To Reduce Testing For Covid 19 " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-28” author: “Mark Holland”
According to the WHO’s weekly epidemiological report released on Tuesday, the number of new cases reported worldwide between March 21 and March 27 declined by 14 per cent compared to the previous week. Every single region recorded a decline, including the Americas and Eastern Mediterranean, which saw declines of 14 per cent and 32 per cent. While that may sound like positive news, the report notes that the decrease in cases should be “interpreted with caution” because numerous countries have reduced testing capacity. “Several countries are progressively changing their COVID-19 testing strategies, resulting in lower overall numbers of tests performed and consequently lower numbers of cases detected. Despite a generalized decline in the rate of SARS-CoV-2 testing observed across the six WHO regions, the number of new weekly cases increased again in early to mid-March, indicating that the virus is currently circulating at very high levels.” The report expressed concerns about a “significant reduction” of COVID-19 testing in several unnamed countries and said the data is becoming “progressively” less representative, less timely, and less robust. “This inhibits our collective ability to track where the virus is, how it is spreading and how it is evolving: information and analyses that remain critical to effectively end the acute phase of the pandemic.” COVID-19 testing has been on the decline in Canada since the beginning of the year and is now back to 2020 levels. The nation’s seven-day moving average for tests performed was 41,548 as of March 28, a figure that it hasn’t been at since July 2020. In B.C., laboratory testing has decreased steadily since December. Since early February, the number of lab tests performed in a single day in B.C. has not exceeded more than 10,000. Furthermore, the number of new cases in B.C. each day is likely far higher than what is reported by the provincial government due to restricted access to PCR testing — the only method included in the province’s official case reports. WHO’s report also warned countries against reducing testing and other surveillance measures, saying that it is too early, reduces their ability to detect new variants, and impairs response efforts. “The uncertainty around the characteristics of emerging variants limits our ability to confidently predict the behaviour of this disease, as the evolution rate and risk of emerging variants are still high, which could undermine prevention and mitigation measures,” the report states, adding. “Until we reach the end of the acute phase of the pandemic, countries must maintain sufficient epidemiologic surveillance.”
Reducing transmission is key, say WHO officials
During a press conference on Wednesday, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for WHO’s COVID-19 response, said countries must continue to focus on reducing transmission. “If we don’t continue to focus on reducing the spread as well, we will continue to see further virus evolution and the future of future variants is uncertain. It could be more severe, it could be less severe and we need to prepare for all those eventualities,” she said. Numerous countries are struggling to “get themselves out” of their current situations, said Van Kerkhove. She also said that COVID-19, especially its variant BA.2, continues to circulate at a rapid rate despite changes in testing and surveillance. “We are in the third year of this pandemic and this virus has a lot of energy left. It is circulating at such an intense level,” she said. “There are at least 10 to 11 million new cases being reported each week and we know that is an underestimate because surveillance has changed and testing has stopped or reduced significantly in a number of countries.” Dr. Mike Ryan, WHO’s health emergencies program director, said COVID’s reproductive number has risen above one in many countries causing a spike in new cases. He also said that when countries open up and remove the majority of restrictions, there is almost always a rebound in new COVID-19 cases. “Opening up rapidly and removing almost all restrictions almost definitely results in a rebound in infections, the question is what impact that rebound will have,” said Ryan. “We have seen the impact the sublineage BA.2 has had in Asia and its increased transmissibility. We are seeing now some increased pressure in Europe because of that virus, having that extra degree of transmissibility and a lot of reinfections.” While the virus may be “milder” due to more people being vaccinated, Ryan said there is still a reasonable chance that increased transmission could result in added pressure on the healthcare system. “Each and every government has to look at that. They have to make some choices around that and what they advise people to do,” he said. “What we hope governments are not doing is passing that back that individual responsibility onto individuals and not supporting people who want to continue taking precautions, particularly people themselves who may be vulnerable.” Nevertheless, Ryan said everyone will need to make their own choice about their risk. “I will continue to wear my mask on the number eight bus when I am coming to work and I think each and every person has to make their own decision regarding their risk and their chance of exposing others.” WHO’s director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said it appears that the best-case scenario in the future is a situation where there are less severe variants emerging that don’t require the use of booster shots or new vaccines. A worst-case scenario, he said, would be a situation where a more virulent and highly transmissible variant emerges that evades vaccines and kills people. “Addressing this situation would require significantly altering the current vaccines and making sure they get to the people who are most vulnerable to severe disease,” he said. In order for the world to move forward and “end the acute phase” of the pandemic this year, Dr. Tedros said countries will need to invest in key areas such as surveillance, laboratories and public health intelligence, as well as research and development. He also said basic tools such as wearing masks and hand washing must also continue if the world wants out of the pandemic. “We have all the tools we need to bring this pandemic under control,” he said. “We can prevent transmission with masks, hand hygiene and ventilation, and we can save lives by ensuring everyone has access to tests, treatments and vaccines.” [email protected] Follow @npescod
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