WHO warns of rising COVID-19 infections and potential new variants

COVID-19 infections are up worldwide, including at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games where over 40 athletes have tested positive, the UN World Health Organisation warned on Tuesday. WHO experts are also concerned that more severe variants of the coronavirus may soon be on the horizon as wastewater surveillance also suggests the circulation of the virus is between 2 to 20 times higher than current figures indicate. COVID-19 is still very much with us and circulating widely, warned the agency’s Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove.

Van Kerkhove stressed the importance of keeping up with vaccine coverage, especially for those most at-risk, which include healthcare workers and people over 60. She said that about 6% of symptomatic cases develop long COVID, which can come with severe and debilitating symptoms that persist for years.

The WHO is recommending combining flu and COVID vaccines this season as a way to boost coverage.

Since the end of the pandemic, “the perception that COVID is gone is real … but the virus isn’t gone,” Van Kerkhove said, adding that governments should “continue to invest and support our global understanding of the circulation and impact of this virus and to provide their populations with the tools to protect themselves”.

According to Market Watch, the worldwide test-positivity rate is currently 10%, but in Europe it’s above 20%. Respiratory viruses such as the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID, are typically more prevalent in winter months.

This article has been revised to include a new statement from the WHO regarding the number of athletes with respiratory viruses at the Olympics.