24/09/2021
Turn the page to covid19, no so fast says expert..
The highly contagious Delta variant is now dominant across the world.
With global Covid cases declining and pandemic fatigue on the rise, many countries are easing restrictions put in place to block the spread of the virus.
But it's far too soon to declare victory, say experts, who warn that unequal vaccine access could still lead to the emergence of new and more deadly variants of the virus.
Positive signs
On September 14 the World Health Organization (WHO) announced "the first substantial decline in weekly [Covid] cases in more than two months" after new infections during the week of September 6 totalled four million.
That number fell again the following week to 3.6 million as did the number of deaths, to "just under 60,000", the WHO said in its most recent update this week.
In Europe -- where a large percentage of adults are now vaccinated -- the pandemic seems to be waning after spikes of infections caused by the Delta variant.
"I believe that most of the world (including most of Europe and the Americas) is entering the final phase of the pandemic," Francois Balloux of the University College of London tweeted last week.
"There will be outbreaks over the coming months/years but I don't anticipate Covid-19 waves comparable to those we've experienced over the last 18 months."
Epidemiologist Mircea Sofonea, a specialist on the evolution of infectious diseases at the University of Montpellier, said Covid is spreading differently now, especially in Europe.
"We are seeing the transition from a wave pattern to more scattered spikes that aren't as high," he told AFP.
This improvement has emboldened several European countries to end some or even all pandemic-related restrictions, as Denmark did on September 10.
"We will know in two or three weeks whether the results of Denmark's experiment are positive or not," epidemiologist Antoine Flahault told AFP.
