WHO Just Warned of an “Accelerating Pandemic”

Virus cases are still spiking around the world.

Just over the last 24 hours, the world has seen another 183,000 new cases, says the World Health Organization.  Brazil reported 54,771 cases in a day.  The U.S. reported 36,.617.  And India reported an increase of 15,400.

In the U.S., we’re seeing big spikes in Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Montana, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Worse, the World Health Organization just issued a new warning.

“The pandemic is still accelerating,” WHO’s director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “We know that the pandemic is much more than a health crisis, it is an economic crisis, a social crisis and in many countries a political crisis. 

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey even just noted, ““Looking at the last two weeks of data, there is a trend. And the trend is headed in the wrong direction and the actions we’re going to take are intended to change that direction and reverse this trend.”

At the same time, demand for masks is increasing again.

California Gov. Gavin Newson just tweeted, “Californians are now REQUIRED to wear face coverings in public spaces.” 

And, according to NPR, Newsom added, “Our numbers are going up, not going down. Hospitalization numbers are just starting to creep back up, and I’m very concerned by what we’re seeing.  We think the most impactful thing we can do, short of going back to a stay-at-home order, is wearing face coverings when we can’t practice physical distancing.”

Even the mayors of Tucson and Phoenix just ordered mandatory face coverings after recent spikes in cases.  “This piece of protection may even save your life,” North Carolina Democratic Governor Roy Cooper said, “adding that he was considering statewide obligatory mask use on a day when statewide COVID-19 hospitalizations set a new high,” as noted by Reuters.