Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he is "very concerned" about the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and the impact it continues to have in many countries, Report informs, citing Global News.
"In the past eight weeks, more than 170,000 people have died of COVID-19. That's just reported, as the actual number of deaths is much higher," he said.
"While I will not preempt the advice of the emergency committee, I remain very concerned by the situation in many countries and the rising number of deaths."
The WHO Emergency Committee is scheduled to meet on Friday to discuss whether the current pandemic situation still constitutes a global emergency, almost exactly three years from the day WHO first declared COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern - the agency's highest level of alert.