<p class="p1">At a special meeting, the <a href="https://indianarrative.com/tag/world-health-organization">World Health Organization</a> (WHO) said its “best estimates” shows that one in 10 people worldwide may have been infected by Covid-19. It also warned of a difficult time ahead.</p>
<p class="p1">The WHO is meeting at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss the global response to the pandemic, where WHO leaders said this estimate meant a vast majority of the world still remains at risk.</p>
<p class="p2">As of now just over 35 million people are confirmed being infected with coronavirus, while the WHO's estimate puts the true figure closer to 800m. Experts have been saying for long that the real number of cases will exceed those confirmed.</p>
<p class="p2"> The estimate that 10 per cent of the world's population has contracted the virus came from Mike Ryan, the executive director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme. "This varies depending on the country, it varies from urban to rural, it varies between different groups," he said.</p>
<p class="p2">"But what it does mean is that the vast majority of the world remains at risk. We know the pandemic will continue to evolve but we also know we have the tools that work to suppress transmission and save lives right now and they are at our disposal."</p>
<p class="p2">Ten months on, the crisis shows no sign of ending. Several countries are seeing second waves after easing restrictions and in some cases, numbers are even higher.</p>
<p class="p2">Calling for solidarity and firm leadership from countries, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there had been marked differences in the number of cases around the world. "Although all countries have been affected by this virus, we must remember that this is an uneven pandemic. Ten countries account for 70 per cent of all reported cases and deaths and just three countries account for half," he said.</p>
More than one million people have died from the virus, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University. After the US, India and Brazil have seen the most infections.
<p class="p1">(With agency inputs)</p>.