London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 21, 2025

Better to cancel Christmas events than grieve later, warns WHO chief

"An event cancelled is better than a life cancelled," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday, highlighting data suggesting Omicron spreads "significantly faster" than the Delta variant.
The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday recommended people cancel holiday gatherings as Omicron continues to spread.

Speaking at a news conference in Geneva, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that "an event cancelled is better than a life cancelled."

"All of us are sick of this pandemic. All of us want to spend time with friends and family. All of us want to get back to normal. The fastest way to do this is for all of us leaders and individuals to make the difficult decisions that must be made to protect ourselves and others."

"In some cases, that will mean cancelling or delaying events," he continued. "But an event cancelled is better than a life cancelled. It's better to cancel now and celebrate later than to celebrate now and grieve later. None of us want to be here again in 12 months time."

The WHO chief flagged "consistent evidence" that the latest variant of concern, Omicron, is spreading "significantly faster" than the Delta variant. Data suggest that Omicron's community transmission has a doubling time between 1.5 and three days.

Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the WHO's chief scientist also warned that it is too early to conclude that Omicron is a milder variant and highlighted that preliminary studies suggest it is more resistant to vaccines currently used to fight the pandemic.

Current evidence shows that it is more likely that people who have been vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 could be infected or reinfected by Omicron.

For now, few countries have imposed measures observed over the 2020 festive period to limit transmission such as caps on private gatherings.

The Netherlands is an exception. Non-essential shops were closed earlier this week until mid-January while people are allowed only two guests at home, rising to four from December 24 to December 26 and on New Year's Eve.

Ending the pandemic in 2022 could be done, Ghebreyesus said, but the world first "must end inequity by insuring 70% of the population of every country is vaccinated by the middle of next year."

He deplored that some countries are using vaccine doses to give boosters to children when the elderly population is other countries have yet to receive their first dose.

According to data from Our World in Data, 48% of the world's population has been fully vaccinated but high and upper-middle-income countries were able to move at a much faster pace by fully inoculating about 70% of their population compared to rates of 33% for lower-middle-income countries and just 3.7% for low income nations.

Only 8.4% of the population on the African continent is currently fully vaccinated.

More than 5.3 million people have now lost their lives to the pandemic — 3.3 million in 2021, " More deaths than from HIV, malaria and tuberculosis combined in 2020", Ghebreyesus said.

About 50,000 lives are still lost to the virus every week.
Comments

mike 4 year ago
fairy tales from the who clown
Oh ya 4 year ago
As they said in the movies. GET A ROPE.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
×