Paul Nyathi|The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that COVID-19 will be around for a long time.

WHO boss, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated this during a virtual press conference in Geneva on Wednesday.

Ghebreyesus said some countries were witnessing a resurgence in cases, while there were troubling upward trends in Africa and the Americas.

Addressing the news briefing, Dr Tedros said that while most of the epidemics in Western Europe appeared to be stable or in decline, for many countries the disease was just getting started.

“And some (countries) that were affected early in the pandemic are now starting to see a resurgence in cases,” he said.

“Make no mistake – we have a long way to go. This virus will be with us for a long time.”

He added: “There is no question that stay-at-home orders and other physical distancing measures have successfully suppressed transmission in many countries. But this virus remains extremely dangerous.

“Early evidence suggests most of the world’s population remains susceptible. That means epidemics can easily reignite.

“One of the greatest dangers we face now is complacency.”

The death toll has passed 175,000 globally, while more than 2.5 million declared cases have been registered since the epidemic first emerged in China last December.