The World Health Organization (WHO) has declined to treat coronavirus as a seasonal disease. This was stated by the head of the technical group of the emergency diseases division Maria van Kerkhove during an online briefing. It was broadcast on the organization's Twitter account.
According to her, when there is a discussion of waves of infection, it means the seasonality of the disease, like the flu. Its activity is reflected in an increase in infections during the winter months in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. “We don't see seasonality in this virus [SARS-CoV-2] yet. It circulates in all conditions, climates and regions, ”the specialist emphasized.
Van Kerkhove explained that the increase in the number of infections in some countries is associated with the lifting of restrictive measures. So, the authorities manage to reduce the peaks of the incidence and take the spread of the infection under control. However, after the release of quarantine, a new outbreak begins.
As of September 30, there are more than 33.7 million people infected with coronavirus in the world, of which more than 1.01 million have died, another 23.4 million have recovered. Most of the infected are in the United States, India, Brazil, Russia and Colombia.
An outbreak of pneumonia COVID-19 caused by a novel coronavirus was first recorded in December 2019 in Wuhan. On March 11, WHO announced that the situation could be characterized as a pandemic.
