NEW DELHI: Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office of the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed that at least one of the three coronavirus mutants were reported in 13 countries in the region. It said that even though the SARS-CoV-2 cases have been falling drastically in the region, the situation remains ‘critical’ due to the spread of the three new variants in the Middle Eastern countries.
Ahmed Al-Mandhari, Director-General, WHO’s eastern Mediterranean region, said in a press briefing that the more virulent variants of COVID-19 from the United Kingdom, Brazil, and South Africa have been detected across the region, and urged the people to continue to take health precautionary measures. He stated in his address that even though vaccination is a turning point in facing the virus, vaccine alone will not be enough, and emphasized on the WHO recommended techniques to mitigate the spread of the virus. He was also of the opinion that governments must ramp up the inoculation before more people were exposed to the more contagious strains.