Even as several countries in the world go into lockdown to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, it may not be enough to actually defeat the pandemic, a World Health Organisation expert has said. Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director at WHO, said that unless supported by other public health measures, lockdowns will not succeed in preventing the virus from resurging later.
In an interview on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Dr Michael said that what is needed is to focus on finding the sick, those who have the virus, isolating them; finding their contacts, and isolating them as well. “The danger right now with the lockdowns ... if we don’t put in place the strong public health measures now, when those movement restrictions and lockdowns are lifted, the danger is the disease will jump back up,” he said.
"We have to take the fight to the virus"
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) March 22, 2020
Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director at the World Health Organisation, on how #Covid_19 can be tackled#Marr https://t.co/xXPXIbsp6B pic.twitter.com/Uq9NcGoNLM
Dr Michael said that once the virus is suppressed, it is necessary to “go after the virus”, and “take the fight to the virus”.
“Many health workers are concerned and scared. They need to know that they are protected; they have the right gear, that they are trained, and they have the space to operate. The whole system is focused on getting them what they need. Patients need to know that they will get care, and that they will get the best possible care. At this stage, we have to focus on saving lives. But at the same time, we have to take the heat of the epidemic, and go after the virus,” he said in a clip tweeted by BBC.
Dr Michael pointed out that countries like China, Singapore and South Korea have been more successful because they have coupled restrictions on movement and social distancing with rigorous testing for each person who could possibly be infected, and have provided a model that European countries can follow.
The WHO has also said that Europe has replaced Asia as the epicenter of the pandemic now. Italy, which has now become the worst COVID-19 affected country, has seen over 5,400 deaths due to the pandemic, and over 59,000 positive patients, has been under lockdown for several weeks now. Others like the UK and US are going the same way.
Across the world, there are now almost 3.4 lakh people who have tested positive for COVID-19, which has also taken over 14,700 lives.