The world has never been in a better position to end the COVID-19 pandemic.

This was stated today by the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

At the same time, he called on countries not to reduce their efforts to fight against the new coronavirus, which has so far caused the death of more than six million people, Reuters reported.

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"We haven't gotten there yet.

However, the end (of the pandemic) is approaching," the head of the WHO told reporters at a virtual press conference.

His comment was the most optimistic from the UN health agency since it declared the situation with the new coronavirus as a pandemic in March 2020, BTA notes.

WHO: At least 17 million people in the EU have had symptoms of prolonged Covid

The virus, which emerged in China at the end of 2019, has killed nearly 6.5 million people out of a total of 606 million infected, causing powerful tremors in the global economy and overwhelming health care systems.

The roll-out of vaccination campaigns and therapies have helped stem the burden of the disease.

Deaths from COVID-19 last week were at their lowest level since March 2020, according to WHO data.

However, countries need to take a hard look at their policies and strengthen them to counter COVID-19 and future viruses, Ghebreyesus explained.

He also urged countries to vaccinate 100% of people in high-risk populations and continue testing.

The WHO chief warned of the possibility of future waves of the virus and specified that countries should maintain adequate stocks of medical equipment and provide enough health workers.

Immunologist: To make an adapted vaccine against COVID every fall

Cases of monkeypox are also on the decline, but Tedros urged countries to continue the fight against the disease.

WHO officials said last month that it was possible to eliminate the monkeypox outbreak in Europe by stepping up vaccination and testing.

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