Covid-19 epidemic

PNG epidemic underlines need for vaccine equity: WHO

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Friday told a briefing focused on Papua New Guinea and the western Pacific region about the WHO's concern of the potential for a much larger epidemic in PNG.

Globally cases and deaths were "continuing to increase at worrying rates", he said.

"The number of new cases per week has nearly doubled over the past two months. This is approaching the highest rate of infection that we have seen so far during the pandemic."

Countries which had been experiencing steep increases in infections in the past few months included PNG, Tedros noted.