File photo: Agencies

The novel coronavirus pandemic is still accelerating and its effects will be felt for decades, the World Health Organization's director-general told an online conference on Monday.

"The pandemic is still accelerating," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the virtual health forum organised by Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. 

"We know that the pandemic is much more than a health crisis, it is an economic crisis, a social crisis and in many countries a political crisis. Its effects will be felt for decades to come."