Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the Technical Lead on COVID-19 at the WHO, has warned the public that there is a large amount of SARS-CoV-2 circulation around the world and a significant drop in surveillance data has become a serious concern.
“The number of sequences that have been shared that we can analyze has dropped precipitously. And we’re looking at very very few sequences right now,” Kerkhove stressed.
“We are worried about further evolution. This will not be the last variant that we will be discussing here. So we need to be able to track that and we need the systems in place. We need governments to maintain surveillance, enhance surveillance, make sure that sequencing is taking place so that experts from around the world can bring that data together and discuss it comprehensively,” she added.