Easing Restrictions Not The End Of COVID-19 In Any Country, Says WHO Chief
The World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that easing restrictions is not the end of the epidemic in any country "Ending the epidemic will require a sustained effort on the part of individuals, communities and governments to continue suppressing and controlling this deadly virus," Ghebreyesus said at a media briefing late Monday.
So-called lockdowns can help to take the heat out of a country’s epidemic, but they cannot end it alone. Countries must now ensure they can detect, test, isolate and care for every case, and trace every contact. We welcome the accelerated development and validation of tests to detect COVID-19 antibodies, which are helping us to understand the extent of infection in the population", the WHO chief said.
The WHO chief also called for national unity and global solidarity and warned of the worst that is yet to come. “We need national unity and whoever has whatever ideology, whether that person is blocked from left or right or center, they should work together to fight this virus to save these real people. Without national unity and global solidarity, the worst is yet ahead of us", he said. The Director-General stressed that the WHO had warned that the extent of the coronavirus outbreak would take many countries by surprise, including more developed and wealthy nations. The virus is poised to wreak further damage unless stronger action is taken. WHO is providing technical, scientific and financial support for the rollout of sero-epidemiologic surveys across the world. Early data from some of these studies suggest that a relatively small percentage of the population may have been infected, even in heavily affected areas – not more than 2 to 3 percent. While antibody tests are important for knowing who has been infected, tests that find the virus are a core tool for active case finding, diagnosis, isolation and treatment. Watch WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus' full media briefing:
The WHO chief also called for national unity and global solidarity and warned of the worst that is yet to come. “We need national unity and whoever has whatever ideology, whether that person is blocked from left or right or center, they should work together to fight this virus to save these real people. Without national unity and global solidarity, the worst is yet ahead of us", he said. The Director-General stressed that the WHO had warned that the extent of the coronavirus outbreak would take many countries by surprise, including more developed and wealthy nations. The virus is poised to wreak further damage unless stronger action is taken. WHO is providing technical, scientific and financial support for the rollout of sero-epidemiologic surveys across the world. Early data from some of these studies suggest that a relatively small percentage of the population may have been infected, even in heavily affected areas – not more than 2 to 3 percent. While antibody tests are important for knowing who has been infected, tests that find the virus are a core tool for active case finding, diagnosis, isolation and treatment. Watch WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus' full media briefing:
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