Coronavirus: What’s happening in Canada and around the world on Monday – CBC
Emergence of omicron variant reminds world that COVID-19 is ‘not done with us,’ WHO leader says
Nov 29, 2021
The World Health Organization on Monday pushed for an international accord to help prevent and fight future pandemics amid the emergence of the worrying new omicron coronavirus variant.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said many uncertainties remain about just how transmissible the variant is, and how severe an infection it might cause.
Tedros joined leaders like outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chilean President Sebastian Pinera for a long-planned and largely virtual special session of the UN health agency’s member states at the World Health Assembly.
The gathering is aimed at devising a global action plan toward preventing, preparing for, and responding to future pandemics.
“The emergence of the highly mutated omicron variant underlines just how perilous and precarious our situation is,” Tedros said, calling for a “legally binding” agreement that wasn’t mentioned in a draft text seeking consensus on the way forward. “Indeed, omicron demonstrates just why the world needs a new accord on pandemics.
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/coronavirus-covid19-canada-world-nov29-2021-1.6266266
