Regional Director, World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt.
East Mediterr Health J. 2020 Sep 24;26(9):992-993. doi: 10.26719/2020.26.9.992.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose multiple health challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Morbidity and mortality from the disease remain a serious cause for concern. As of 31 August 2020, a total of 1 924 511 laboratory-confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection had been reported in the Region, including 51 019 deaths. Moreover, there are worrying signs that cases are now rising again in some countries after a period of decline and the indirect impact of the pandemic on health care is arguably even more troubling. Access to essential health services is being compromised as scarce resources are diverted to fight the pandemic, social restriction measures such as lockdowns disrupt service provision, while fear and rumor deter people from approaching health facilities. Initial studies indicate that services such as immunization, elective surgery and chronic disease management have been severely affected. The long-term consequences threaten to be grave indeed.
新冠疫情在东地中海区域继续带来多种健康挑战。该疾病的发病率和死亡率仍然令人严重关切。截至 2020 年 8 月 31 日，该区域累计报告了 1924511 例实验室确诊的 2019 冠状病毒病病毒感染病例，包括 51019 例死亡。此外，有令人担忧的迹象表明，在一些国家的病例经过一段时间的下降后，现在又开始上升，大流行对医疗保健的间接影响可能更令人不安。由于稀缺资源被转移用于应对疫情，基本卫生服务的提供受到了影响，如封锁等社会限制措施中断了服务的提供，而恐惧和谣言则使人们不敢前往卫生机构。初步研究表明，免疫、择期手术和慢性病管理等服务受到了严重影响。长期后果确实可能很严重。
