NAITALA nitong nakaraang linggo ang pinakamataas na bilang ng kaso ng COVID-19, at 46 porsiyento ng kabuuang kaso sa mundo ay mula sa European region na sumasakop sa halos one-third kabuuang bilang ng namatay sa virus, pagbabahagi ng dalawang opisyal ng World Health Organization (WHO) nitong Lunes.

“There’s no question that the European region is an epicenter for disease right now,” pahayag ni Mike Ryan, director ng WHO emergency response program, sa lingguhang webinar mula sa global headquarters ng WHO.

Partikular na binanggit ng organisasyon na sinasakop ng European area ay mula

Vladivostok sa Far East ng Russia hanggang sa Reykjavik sa Iceland sa west at na isang mas malawak na conceptual footprint kumpara sa European Union.

“Right now, we’re well behind this virus in Europe, so getting ahead of it is going to take some, some serious acceleration on what we do, and maybe much more comprehensive nature of measures that are going to be needed to catch up with and get ahead of this virus.”

“It may require further sacrifice for many, many people in terms of personal lives,” paalala pa ni Ryan. Ipinaliwanag niya na marami ang nangyayaring paggalaw, kaya naman kinakailangan ang pagpapahinto at paglilimita sa mga kilos at pananatili sa mga bahay upang makawala sa kasalukuyang sitwasyon ng pandemya.

Una rito, inanunsiyo ni WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus na, “Last week saw the highest number of Covid-19 cases reported so far.”

“Many countries in the northern hemisphere are seeing a concerning rise in cases and hospitalizations. And intensive care units are filling up to capacity in some places, particularly in Europe and North America,” pagbabahagi ni Tedros.

Kailangang gawin ng mundo ang lahat ng makakaya nito upang maprotektahan ang mga health workers, at ang pinakamainam na paraan upang gawin ito ay nasa kamay ng bawat indibiduwal—sundin ang bawat panuntunan upang mabawasan ang panganib ng pagkahawa para sa kanilang sarili at sa kapwa.

“No one wants more so-called lockdowns. But if we want to avoid them, we all have to play our part,” ani Tedros.

Paalala ng WHO Chief ang laban kontra pandemya ay laban ng bawat isa.

“We cannot have the economic recovery we want and live our lives the way we did before the pandemic.

“We can keep our kids in school; we can keep businesses open; we can preserve lives and livelihoods. We can do it! But we must all make trade-offs, compromises, and sacrifices,” paliwanag ni Tedros.

Aniya, kung mabilis at at maayos ang pagkilos ng mga lider, masusugpo ang virus.

“But, where there has been political division at the national level; where there has been blatant disrespect for science and health professionals, confusion has spread, and cases and deaths have mounted,” dagdag pa niya.

Ayon sa US-based Johns Hopkins University, umabot na sa 43.23 million ang kaso ng coronavirus sa mundo kasama ang 1,156,212 pagkamatay.

US pa rin ang pinakamatinding tinamaang bansa na may 8,661,917 kaso at 225,379 pagkamatay.