GENEVA, Switzerland (NBC) – The World Health Organization says its “best estimates” indicate that roughly one in ten people worldwide may have been infected by the coronavirus.
The WHO executive for health emergencies discussed the estimate Monday at the organization’s headquarters in Switzerland.
Doctor Mike Ryan said the one in ten projection is more than 20 times the number of confirmed cases. But he said it is also a note of caution, because most of the world “remains at risk.”
Ryan said, “Our current best estimates tell us that about 10 percent of the global population may have been infected by this virus. This varies depending on country. It varies from urban to rural. It
varies between different groups. But what it does mean is that the vast majority of the world remains at risk.”
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “And let’s do the national unity and global solidarity in respect of those. Heroes, heroines in the frontline. And please join me in showing our appreciation and solidarity for these health heroes.”
At the meeting of the WHO Executive Board, the organization’s director-general led a round of applause for frontline health workers battling the pandemic.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases as tallied by both the WHO and Johns Hopkins University now stands at more than 35 million worldwide.
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