Title: COVID-19 Resurgence and Calls for Mask-Wearing

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, urged the public to wear masks and get vaccinated against COVID-19 following a rise in cases in many countries over the past few weeks. Tedros wrote on his social media page: "The number of respiratory illnesses caused by COVID-19, influenza, and other pathogens has been increasing in many countries for several weeks and is expected to continue after the recent holidays." He also encouraged everyone to get tested for COVID-19 and seek medical attention when necessary. The WHO chief added: "Continue to use masks, ensure ventilation, and maintain distance to reduce infections." He called on countries to ensure access to testing and vaccines while maintaining ongoing sequencing of COVID-19 to track the development of variants.