First Thing: WHO chief urges action to tackle ‘devastating’ long Covid

‘The impact of long Covid for all countries is very serious and needs immediate and sustained action equivalent to its scale,’ Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. Photograph: Salvatore Di Nolfi/AP

Good morning.

The head of the World Health Organization has urged countries to launch immediate and sustained efforts to tackle the “very serious” crisis of long Covid, which is causing prolonged suffering” for tens of millions of people.