WHO: COVID-19 pandemic hoped to end in two years

The director of the World Health Organization believes that the COVID-19 pandemic can be ended in less than two years but warned that no country can just ride it out until there is a vaccine.

Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that it took two years to end the 1918 flu. He said while the close connectivity in an age of globalization means that the virus has a better chance to spread, the technology of today will help end it faster.

"So we hope to finish this pandemic in less than two years, especially if we can pull efforts together and with national unity and global solidarity," he told a virtual press conference from Geneva.

In his opening remarks, Tedros said that no country can just ride out the pandemic until there is a vaccine. He said that a vaccine will be vital tool to fight the pandemic and hopefully there will be one as soon as possible.

"But there's no guarantee that we will, and even if we do have a vaccine, it won't end the pandemic on its own," he said. "We must all learn to control and manage this virus using the tools we have now, and to make the adjustments to our daily lives that are needed to keep ourselves and each other safe,"

WHO reported more than 22 million cases and 780,000 deaths from COVID-19 globally by Friday.

Tedros pointed out that the so-called lockdowns enabled many countries to suppress transmission and take the pressure off their health systems, but noted that lockdowns are not a long-term solution for any country.

"We do not need to choose between lives and livelihoods, or between health and the economy. That's a false choice," he said. "On the contrary, the pandemic is a reminder that health and the economy are inseparable," he said.

He said that WHO is committed to working with all countries to move into a new stage of opening their economies, societies, schools and businesses safely.

Tedros emphasized that every single person must be involved. "Every single person can make a difference. Every person, family, community and nation must make their own decisions, based on the level of risk where they live," he said.

"We will not -- we cannot -- go back to the way things were," Tedros said.