Omicron shows need for global treaty on pandemic: WHO chief

GENEVA, Nov 29 (AP) The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday pushed for an international agreement to help prevent and fight future pandemics, amid growing concern over the new form of the coronavirus, Omicron.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that there remains a lot of uncertainty about how contagious and serious the oomicron variant undergoing extremely rapid mutation can be.

Tedros was addressing a special online session of the United Nations Health Agency member states at the World Health Assembly. The aim of this meeting is to prepare a global action plan towards prevention and combating of future pandemics.

Calling for a legally binding agreement, the WHO chief said, “The oomycron nature of the virus underscores how risky and precarious our situation is.” In fact, Omicron shows why the world needs a new agreement on the pandemic.

He said that South Africa and Botswana – where the redesign was discovered – should be praised for their work, not “punished” for it.

AP Shafiq Shahid

Shahid

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