Many countries have not reached the peak of the highly contagious Omicron variant of the new coronavirus and measures to limit its spread should be gradually relaxed, the head of the World Health Organization’s technical team for Covid-19, Mar. van Kerkov.
“We are paying attention because many countries have not yet passed the peak of Omicron. “Many countries have low levels of vaccination coverage with very vulnerable people within their populations,” Maria van Kerkov said in an online news release.
“And now is not the time to take all the measures at once. We have always encouraged, always (be) very careful, in the implementation of the interventions as well as in the removal of these interventions in a stable and slow way, gradually. “Because this virus has a special dynamic,” he added.
WHO Director-General for the Center Adanom Gebregesus also said that the UN agency was concerned about a narrative that was prevalent in some countries that and is no longer necessary.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” Tentros told the briefing. “More transmission means more deaths. We do not ask any country to return to the so-called lockdown. “But we call on all countries to protect their citizens by using every tool in the toolbox, not just vaccines.”
He added: “It is too early for any country to surrender or declare victory.”
In the same press conference, the head of the WHO emergency response, Mike Ryan, urged the countries to chart their own way out of the pandemic and not to blindly follow other countries in terms of easing measures. “If you open the doors quickly, you better be able to close them very quickly,” he said.
“I think it is a transitional phase for many countries, not every country is in the same situation. Countries that make decisions about wider openness must also be confident of the ability to reinstate measures, with public acceptance, if needed. So, if we open the doors quickly, we better be able to close them very quickly as well. “
Denmark and Austria last week became the last countries to ease restrictions on the spread of Covid-19, following similar moves by Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands, although other European countries were planning new restrictions to address record numbers of infections.
In a separate news release earlier Tuesday, Dr. Boris Pavlin of the WHO Covid-19 Response Team said that the emerging form of Omicron BA.2 does not appear to be more serious than the original BA.1 form. The global response to the pandemic has created tens of thousands of tonnes of medical waste, including discarded syringes, used test kits and old vaccine bottles, threatening human health and the environment, according to a WHO report.
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