(AP) – The World Health Organization has an unwelcome but potentially life-saving message for the holiday season: Don’t hug. To stop the spread of the coronavirus, WHO’s emergencies chief said Monday that the “shocking” rate of COVID-19 cases and deaths, particularly in the U.S., mean that people shouldn’t get too close to their loved ones this year.
Dr. Michael Ryan called the pandemic “brutal” in the U.S., which accounts for about a third of all COVID-19 cases globally. He said it was “horrible” that WHO was advising people not to hug each other.