WHO chief sees "green shoots of hope" in global fight against Covid-19August 10, 2020 - 17:34 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The world is witnessing “green shoots of hope” in its battle against Covid-19, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said, according to The Independent. In the WHO’s daily media briefing, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus began by noting the scale of the coronavirus pandemic, with 20 million confirmed cases and 750,000 deaths expected by the end of this week. However, he added that there were reasons to be hopeful in the global fight against the disease. “I know many of you are grieving and that this is a difficult moment for the world,” Dr Tedros said. “But I want to be clear, there are green shoots of hope and no matter where a country, a region, a city or a town is – it’s never too late to turn the Covid-19 outbreak around.” The health chief praised New Zealand as a “global exemplar” for its response to the pandemic, after the country celebrated 100 days with no community transmission of Covid-19 on Sunday. Dr Tedros also praised UK PM Boris Johnson for his government’s decision to implement local lockdowns in the UK and France’s Emmanuel Macron for the introduction of compulsory face-masks in some outdoor areas in Paris. “Over the last few days, UK prime minister Boris Johnson put areas of northern England under stay at home notifications as clusters of cases were identified,” he said. There are now more than 19.8 million cases of the novel coronavirus worldwide, including over 12 million recoveries and 731,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking figures from the World Health Organization and additional sources. Photo. AFP/Getty Images Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. |