The world is still at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, a World Health Organization special envoy on Covid-19 has said.
Dr David Nabarro described the situation as “grotesque” during a sitting of the UK’s foreign affairs committee.
He told MPs “it’s much worse than any of the science fiction about pandemics. This is really serious – we’re not even in the middle of it yet. We’re still at the beginning of it.”
“And we’re beginning to see what damage it’s going to cause the world. And it’s getting nastier as we go into this particular phase in Europe of watching the thing come back again.”
He added: “None of us find the present situation anything other than horrible, grotesque, really embarrassing.
“It’s a terrible situation, a health issue has got so out of control it’s knocking the world into, not just a recession, but a huge economic contraction which would probably double the number of poor people, double the number of malnourished, lead to hundreds of millions of small businesses going bankrupt.”
Read more via The Telegraph
2nd September 2026
Malta Public Transport has launched its Back to School campaign, offering eligible students the opportunity to register for a personalised Tallinja card free of charge, including postage...
2nd September 2026
Uber Technologies will cut 3,300 jobs, or roughly 10% of its global workforce, as part of an overhaul, as it looks to reduce the number of managers, the company said on Wednesday.
...
2nd September 2026
Updated 1200
Fiscal Council Warns Malta’s Deficit Could Exceed Government Forecast: The Malta Fiscal Advisory Council has warned that Malta’s public finances face a heightened risk of...
1st September 2026
Updated 1200
Malta Economy Shows Modest July Improvement as Tourism and Lending Support Growth: Malta’s economic activity improved slightly in July but remained marginally below its l...
25th June 2026
The European Commission has unveiled an ambitious package of tax reforms aimed at simplifying tax rules across the European Union, reducing compliance burdens for businesses and strength...
10th June 2026
The European Union's new Migration and Asylum Pact enters into force on 12 June, ushering in the most significant reform of the bloc's migration framework in years and placing renewed em...
2nd September 2026
Malta Public Transport has launched its Back to School campaign, offering eligible students the opportunity to register for a personalised Tallinja card free of charge, including postage...
2nd September 2026
Uber Technologies will cut 3,300 jobs, or roughly 10% of its global workforce, as part of an overhaul, as it looks to reduce the number of managers, the company said on Wednesday.
...
5th August 2026
Artificial intelligence has already transformed industries such as finance and education, but one of its most important tests may come in medicine: discovering new drugs.
Pharmaceutic...
2nd August 2026
Malta’s new pay transparency regulations, which came into effect on the 5th of June, aim to strengthen fairness and equality in the workplace, but employers are warning that the rushed i...
2nd September 2026
Malta Public Transport has launched its Back to School campaign, offering eligible students the opportunity to register for a personalised Tallinja card free of charge, including postage...
19th August 2026
The autonomous bus project in Gozo commenced its public testing phase after the completion of the commissioning phase, marking another important milestone in the rollout of this innovati...
4th August 2026
President Donald Trump announced late Saturday that he had called off planned U.S. strikes on Iran, saying renewed negotiations had raised hopes of easing the conflict and reopening ship...
29th July 2026
Gulf states have backed a proposal aimed at reducing disruption to global oil trade by allowing Iran to collect voluntary fees from ships using the Strait of Hormuz, according to sources...
25th June 2026
At least 32 people have been killed and more than 700 injured after two powerful earthquakes — measuring 7.2 and 7.5 — struck central Venezuela seconds apart, causing widespread destruct...
25th February 2026
Thousands of Cuban security personnel have begun leaving Caracas after nearly two decades in Venezuela, as Washington ramps up efforts to dismantle the long standing alliance between the...
24th August 2026
Ukraine wants peace but will not just give in to Russia at any price, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday in a defiant speech marking Independence Day celebrations.
British...
21st August 2026
Russia is open to listening to new proposals on how to reach a settlement on the Ukraine conflict, a senior Russian diplomat said, but any proposals should reflect the "realities on the...