Will this ever end?! Even while Deltacron is making waves with rising cases in some states, the WHO has issued a warning not to casually take Omicron variants! The misinformation pandemic seems more virulent than Covid itself. Home remedies against all kinds of WhatsApp misinformation about vaccines and (in part) the government’s (and authorities’) handling of the pandemic have led to more widespread panic and paranoia.
WHO is concerned about the reduction in COVID-19 testing around the world. In a press release, the organization disclosed three types of misinformation that are now rife.
We have huge amounts of misinformation out there. The misinformation that Omicron is mild. Misinformation that the pandemic is over. Misinformation that this is the last variant we will have to deal with. This is really causing a lot of confusion @mvankerkhove pic.twitter.com/Ou7vuiV1GD
— Cleavon MD 💉 💉 💉 (@Cleavon_MD) March 19, 2022
Maria Van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist and COVID-19 technical leader at WHO, said there is
- Misinformation about Omicron being mild.
- Wrong information that we saw and addressed with the last variant.
- Misinformation that the pandemic is over!
This is very worrying and frightening as people are becoming more ‘lax and careless’ overtime. This has caused many deaths worldwide over the past few waves.
SEE ALSO: China reports first death from COVID-19 in over a year, records 2,157 new cases; Is the fourth wave coming?
Kerkhove further informed that despite reductions in the number of tests worldwide, 11 million cases have been reported in the past week alone, which is an 8 percent increase in Covid cases! Due to the reduced number of tests around the world, the WHO cannot track new variants and this is terrifying. New variants can do a lot of damage, especially among the unprotected parts of the community. Once a community is affected, there is a good chance that it will be transferred to another.
WHO is calling for a very strong surveillance system to monitor COVID-19 with more testing and tracking. Although the challenges (with the current crisis in the world) are enormous, the testing must not stop.
Keep up to date with the latest Covid news here
ALSO SEE: What are the symptoms of Omicron BA.2. Coronavirus? The new mutated version of Covid-19
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