World is at verge of new wave of coronavirus pandemic - WHO

The world is in the early stages of the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), said this at a WHO COVID-19 Emergency Committee meeting in Geneva.

He drew attention to the increase in the incidence in the world over the past week and mortality from the consequences of infection with COVID. At the same time, the number of deaths increased for the first time after a decline that had continued over the previous ten weeks.

According to the Director-General of WHO, the delta variant of the coronavirus "is now present in more than 111 countries". The WHO expects that "soon it will become the dominant strain circulating in the world, if not already."

He also called the inequality in access to COVID vaccines in the world shocking, TASS reports. While the international mechanism for accessing COVAX vaccines, according to Ghebreyesus, "may work," its scope is "still too small," with "just over 100 million doses" delivered to date.

As reported by the Bashinform News Agency, five people died from the consequences of a new coronavirus infection in Bashkiria over the previous day. Thus, the total death toll of the disease reached 666. The total number of infected people in the republic on July 14 exceeded 44 thousand (44 011 people). Currently, 2,376 patients are active carriers of COVID-19 in the region, of whom 581 are being treated in hospitals. 58 residents of Bashkiria are in serious condition; eight need the support of lung ventilators.