Coronavirus Pandemic: Countries can't defeat coronavirus by lockdown, says WHO
The novel coronavirus deaths have soared to 14,641 globally, countries across the world including India announced lockdown and heightened restrictions to stop the spread of deadly COVID-19. The World Health Organization's (WHO) top emergency expert said that countries can't defeat coronavirus by simply lockdown their societies.
According to Reuters, WHO also added that public health measures are needed to avoid a resurgence of the virus later on.
"What we really need to focus on is finding those who are sick, those who have the virus, and isolate them, find their contacts and isolate them," Mike Ryan said in an interview on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.
"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."
Several countries, including India, have declared total shutdown and introduced drastic restrictions to fight the new coronavirus, with most employees asked to work from home and schools, offices, Railways, buses and restaurants being closed.
"Once we've suppressed the transmission, we have to go after the virus. We have to take the fight to the virus," Ryan said.
With over 5,000 deaths, Italy is now the worst-hit country in the world. Ryan also said that several vaccines were in development, but only one had begun trials in the United States.
"We have to make sure that it's absolutely safe... we are talking at least a year," he said.
"The vaccines will come, but we need to get out and do what we need to do now."
