On Wednesday, the World Health Organisation told countries emerging from lockdowns, in place to combat the current coronavirus pandemic, that they must proceed “extremely carefully” or risk a rapid rise in new cases.
WHO director, General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that countries had to ensure that they had adequate measures to monitor the spread of COVID-19, such as tracing systems.
Tedros said at a virtual briefing in Geneva:
“The risk of returning to lockdown remains very real if countries do not manage the transition extremely carefully and in a phased approach,”
“If lockdown measures are lifted too quickly, the virus can take off,”
Maria Van Kerkhove, a WHO epidemiologist, supported his concerns over the virus that has infected 3.71 million people worldwide and killed over 258,000 people at the time of writing.
Government-ordered lockdowns are becoming unpopular, as countries face rising unemployment and economic burdens.
Some countries have begun to loosen lockdowns, such as Germany, Spain, and Italy, and with U.S. President, Donald Trump saying his focus is on opening up the country again.
WHO official, Mike Ryan, said it was up to countries and federations to determine whether and when to restart.
Tedros, who has recently come under criticism for his treatment of the outbreak primarily from the Trump administration, said he would conduct an evaluation of the actions of the WHO when the pandemic intensity recedes.
The Panthera Post 