According to the Director General at his weekly press conference, there has been a significant reduction in deaths. However, the virus continues to spread at the same level as last year.

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Last week's statistics reflect the lowest rate of COVID-19-related deaths since March 2020. For the week ending September 5, 11 000 deaths were recorded, which is the lowest weekly total since March 16, 2020.

In this regard, the WHO official called on governments to continue the drive for vaccination, ensuring that 100 percent of vulnerable people and health care workers, along with 70 percent of the general public, are vaccinated.

"Now is the worst time to stop running," said Tedros, who compared the fight against the virus to a marathon." "A marathon runner doesn't stop when the finish line is in sight but runs more with all the energy he has left."

Tedros also announced that WHO will launch an advisory plan for national health policies, outlining what the organization believes is "the best way to save lives, protect health networks" while avoiding "more variants, more deaths, more destruction and more uncertainty."

The WHO official's recommendations include continued funding for vaccination, mainly in at-risk populations, laboratory testing of coronaviruses to monitor variants, and investment in improving healthcare systems.