Around 10% of the world’s population may have already been infected with COVID-19, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert has said.
Dr Michael Ryan, the head of emergencies at WHO, said it was the institution’s “best estimates” to say 1 in 10 people have had the virus — although, he warned, this still leaves many in danger.
Speaking on Monday at a meeting of the WHO’s 34-member executive board on COVID-19, he said the figures would vary between urban and rural areas, and between different groups.
But, he added: “The vast majority of the world remains at risk”.
There are currently around 7.6 billion people inhabiting the planet, which means the WHO is estimating around 760 million people have caught the virus.
If accurate, this would mean the confirmed number of cases — just over 35 million worldwide as of Monday — would be an enormous underestimate of the virus’ actual reach.
