WHO Challenges Countries To Take Actions Against Coronavirus

Governments across the globe have been sent an urgent message from the  World Health Organization (WHO), telling them to "Wake up" in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic that is ravaging the world. 

The rate at which the virus spreads in different countries has become alarming, with countries like the United States and Brazil recording infections into the millions.

The WHO emergencies director, Michael Ryan said, “People need to wake up. The data is not lying. The situation on the ground is not lying.”

There have been over half a million deaths globally and a total of 10.8 million cases of infections.

Ryan also said that many countries have failed to take any serious actions to stem the spread, warning that “too many countries are ignoring what the data is telling them”.

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“There are good economic reasons that countries need to bring their economies back online.

“It’s understandable, but you can’t ignore the problem either. The problem will not magically go away.”

He also said that in the face of growing numbers, “it is never too late in an epidemic to take control."

Best Possible Action

Ryan went on to suggest, after taking into consideration the economic impact of a total lockdown, that countries wouldn't need to shut down the economy totally, however, they could identify places where there is a low transmission volume and relax restrictions there.

Enforcing less stringent movement restrictions in areas with low transmission rates could be followed by measures like contact tracing, isolating identified positive cases, social distancing, and hand-washing.

He said, “If countries proceed with opening up without the capacity to cope with the likely caseload, then you end up in a worst-case scenario.

“If the health system stops coping, more people will die.

“It is looking at: can you control transmission by any other means other than transmission? If you can’t, you may not have an alternative than enforce a strict lockdown measure."