US could overtake Europe as coronavirus epicentre: WHO
Geneva: The COVID-19 outbreak in the United States has the potential to exceed that in Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday as the number of reported US cases surges.
The pandemic began in China in December but the epicentre has since shifted from Asia to Europe.
WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told reporters during a virtual press conference that 85 percent of the new cases reported to the global body overnight had come from Europe and the United States, now the two "main drivers of the outbreak".
The latest WHO coronavirus daily situation report -- published late Monday, before the overnight figures -- showed that Europe reported 20,131 new cases in the preceding 24 hours, while the United States reported 16,354, more than doubling its total caseload.
Asked whether the United States could overtake Europe as the epicentre of COVID-19, Harris said: "We are now seeing a very large acceleration in the number of cases from the US, so it does have that potential.
"We cannot say that that is the case yet but it does have that potential.
"They have a very large outbreak and an outbreak increasing in intensity." The WHO's Monday daily update showed European countries with 171,424 total infections and 8,743 deaths (up 1,318), while the United States reported a total of 31,573 infections and 402 fatalities (up 201).
Harris said that due to the incubation period, the rise in case numbers reflected a surge in transmissions taking place up to five days prior.
"Each individual infecting two to three other people takes about three to five days, so we're seeing what happened three or four days ago, or five days ago in many countries," Harris explained.
The numbers show that in the United States, "a week ago there was a lot of transmission". Despite the surging case numbers, Harris said there were also some "very big positives" emerging from America.
"Testing is being ramped up; there are more efforts to isolate, care for every confirmed case and trace and quarantine people," she said.
"And also a very, very strong community mobilisation. There are some extremely heartwarming and fantastic stories coming out of the US about what people are doing for each other." According to an AFP tally compiled at 1100 GMT Tuesday from official sources, COVID-19 has now infected more than 386,000 people worldwide, and killed nearly 17,000 of them since the outbreak began.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
