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It could be four to five years before the Covid-19 pandemic is under control, a senior global health official has said.

But with hopes of an end to the pandemic dependent on containing the virus and development of an effective vaccine, other experts have dampened expectations of putting a date on curbing the virus.

There are globally more than 4.3 million confirmed coronavirus cases, with the death toll now approaching 300,000.

Soumya Swaminathan, the World Health Organisation's (WHO) chief scientist, told the FT's Global Boardroom digital conference: 'I would say in a four to five-year timeframe, we could be looking at controlling this.'
 
Influential factors include whether the virus matures, the containment measures put in place and the development of a vaccine, she told the conference.