The wave of COVID-19 pandemic "sprouts" in many countries

The COVID-19 pandemic remains complicated, with the number of new cases in July increasing by 80% worldwide compared to the previous month. Extreme weather patterns and disruptions to healthcare activities due to workers' strikes have further exacerbated pressures on the global healthcare system.

The SARS-CoV-2 VIRUS has mutated many times, resulting in the emergence of many new variants and threatening to trigger a new pandemic wave at any time. Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) released a report saying that the number of new COVID-19 cases worldwide increased by 80% in July compared to the previous month, just a few days after the organisation identified the new variant of Omicron's EG.5 as "remarkable".

The majority of new infections are concentrated in the Western Pacific region, with the number of new cases increasing by 137%. Some countries such as the US, the UK, France, and Japan recorded a sharp increase in the number of new cases in the past few weeks. For the first time since the beginning of 2023, the number of hospitalisations due to COVID-19 rose in the US. In the Republic of Korea (RoK), the number of new cases increased for the fifth consecutive week.

World Health Organisation (WHO) released a report saying that the number of new COVID-19 cases worldwide increased by 80% in July compared to the previous month, just a few days after the organisation identified the new variant of Omicron's EG.5 as "remarkable".

Explaining the "shoot" of the recent wave of COVID-19 pandemic in some countries, experts said that new variants seem to be more contagious than previous ones, which may be due to a protein mutation.

People's increased travel activities and social interactions during the summer vacation also contributed to the rises in the number of cases.

In addition, due to intense heat, people tend to stay longer in air-conditioned indoor environments, which have poor ventilation conditions. This also promotes the spread of disease.

Therefore, health officials continue to call on people, especially vulnerable people, to remain vigilant.

The global health system is also going through a difficult time when record heat waves hit a series of countries, causing serious consequences for people's health, including death or disability.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), 76% of children under the age of 18 in South Asia, or 460 million, are exposed to extreme heat. To protect children, UNICEF recommends that governments should pay investment in primary healthcare to prevent and take early action against heat-related illnesses in children.

Extreme weather events are the clearest evidence of the impact of climate change on the green planet. Unless greenhouse gas emissions are curbed, extreme and unusual weather patterns will occur with increasing severity. In recent days, many countries have recorded an increase in the number of people hospitalised due to the heat.

The number of deaths across Mexico from extreme heat has reached 249 in the past four months, the Mexican Ministry of Health said.

In the RoK, there were a total of 1,984 cases of heat-related health problems from the beginning of 2023 to August 7, an increase of 1.5 times compared to the same period in 2022.

Meanwhile, healthcare services in some countries have been disrupted by strikes by medical workers demanding higher wages and improved working conditions. The wave of strikes has caused daily examination and treatment services to be almost stalled.

In the UK, where the public health system is facing a staffing crisis, the government has made it a priority for 2023 to reduce the National Health Service (NHS) waiting list and make sure everyone gets care faster.

Along with the increase in environmental pollution, climate change, loss of biodiversity and population challenges, there are more risks to public health. Recently, the US Department of State has established an agency to rally the strength of the international community to prevent health threats after the COVID-19 pandemic. Raising vigilance and building a healthcare system that is more resilient to the crisis is an urgent requirement of every country.

NDO