(CN) — Warning there isn't a magical solution to end the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization threw its support behind the wearing of masks on Monday and said badly hit countries like the United States should not give up hope of controlling the virus.
Comparing the novel coronavirus to the 1918 influenza pandemic, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general, said during a news briefing the world cannot count on vaccines to end the pandemic and nations need to take a comprehensive approach to bringing the disease under control.
“We all hope to have a number of effective vaccines that can help prevent people from infection, however there is no silver bullet at the moment and there might never be,” Tedros said.
“The world has never seen anything like this for several decades, since actually the 1918” pandemic, Tedros said. He said the coronavirus pandemic's effects may last for decades because of the toll it is having on economies.
“It has touched almost everything,” he said. “It will be felt for decades to come because one of its impacts is on the economy.”
Still, he expressed optimism that the world can end the pandemic through a comprehensive strategy of hygiene, mask wearing, testing, therapeutic treatments physical distancing and restrictions on crowds.
“Since the outbreak started, many countries have shown that it can be controlled or serious transmission can be suppressed,” he said.
He added hope is warranted because work to develop vaccines has moved at unprecedented speed. A few vaccines are at advanced clinical stages and being tested on large groups of people.
“There is hope there,” Tedros said. “It doesn't mean we will have the vaccine, but at least the speed at which we reached the level we reached now is unprecedented.”
The virus continues to spread at an accelerating pace around the world and it is circulating at a high rate in many of the world's most populous countries, including the United States, Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa. In the past three months, the number of infections has risen five-fold and deaths have tripled, Tedros said.
The number of confirmed infections globally stands at more than 18.3 million and deaths linked to Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, are nearing 700,000. However, the death toll is believed to be much higher because many fatalities are not listed as caused by the virus and some countries may be underreporting. For example, the BBC on Monday reported that leaked official documents from Iran show the country's death count stood at nearly 42,000 by July 20, far higher than the official toll of 14,405.
On Monday, the WHO said about 0.6% of people who are infected die from Covid-19.
“That may not sound like a lot, but it is quite high if you think about a virus that can transmit readily, that can transmit well and infect,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead for the pandemic. “There's a long way to go with this pandemic.”
The fatality rate is much higher for older people and those with underlying health conditions, such as diabetes, obesity and heart problems, she said.
Mike Ryan, the WHO chief of emergencies, said the fatality rate equates to one out of every 200 people dying. By comparison, the fatality rate for the 2009 swine flu pandemic was between one death per 10,000 and one death per 100,000, he said.
He added that researchers are uncertain about the long-term health effects for people who are infected, making it all that more important to avoid infection.
“Everything we do to reduce our exposure or exposing others will add benefit to this,” he said. “You can choose, we have choices.”