(Eagle News) — The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) clarified on Thursday, March 12, that its earlier announcement of the coronavirus disease spread as a “pandemic” does not mean that countries should give up, and stressed that the COVID-19 is a “controllable pandemic.”
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that countries should instead “double down” and work on measures to control and contain the virus with the “political commitment” needed to stem its spread.
“Let me be clear: describing this as a pandemic does not mean that countries should give up. The idea that countries should shift from containment to mitigation is wrong and dangerous,” Dr. Tedros said.
“On the contrary, we have to double down,” he said.
“This is a controllable pandemic. Countries that decide to give up on fundamental public health measures may end up with a larger problem, and a heavier burden on the health system that requires more severe measures to control,” he stressed.
Dr. Tedros, first WHO Director-General to have been elected from multiple candidates by the World Health Assembly in May 2017, said that they are concerned that some countries are still not approaching the COVID-19 threat “with the level of political commitment needed to control it” despite frequent warnings from WHO.
He said that this was one of the two reasons that WHO decided to describe the global COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic.
-Speed and scale of transmission noted as virus spreads outside China-
The first main reason for the declaration was also the “speed and the scale of the transmission.”
“Almost 125,000 cases have now been reported to WHO, from 118 countries and territories. In the past two weeks, the number of cases reported outside China has increased almost 13-fold, and the number of affected countries has almost tripled,” he said.
The WHO chief urged all countries to “strike a fine balance between protecting health, preventing economic and social disruption, and respecting human rights.”
“We urge all countries to take a comprehensive approach tailored to their circumstances – with containment as the central pillar,” he said.
-4-pronged strategy –
“We are calling on countries to take a four-pronged strategy: First, prepare and be ready.”
“There are still 77 countries and territories with no reported cases, and 55 countries and territories that have reported 10 cases or less. And all countries with cases have unaffected areas. You have an opportunity to keep it that way. Prepare your people and your health facilities,” Dr. Tedros said.
The second strategy is to “detect, prevent and treat.”
“You can’t fight a virus if you don’t know where it is. That means robust surveillance to find, isolate, test and treat every case, to break the chains of transmission,” the WHO chief said.
The third strategy is to “reduce and suppress,” he said.
“To save lives we must reduce transmission. That means finding and isolating as many cases as possible, and quarantining their closest contacts. Even
if you cannot stop transmission, you can slow it down and protect health facilities, old age homes and other vital areas – but only if you test all suspected cases,” Dr. Tedros explained.
The fourth strategy is to “innovate and improve.”
-WHO chief Tedros: “All countries have lessons to share”-
WHO said that the COVID-19 is a “new virus and a new situation.”
“We’re all learning and we must all find new ways to prevent infections, save lives, and minimize impact. All countries have lessons to share,” the WHO director general said.
Dr. Tedros also thanked those who have been supporting WHO in efforts to control COVID-19, and the countries which have contributed “fully flexible funds.”
He said that more than US$440 million have been pledged to WHO’s Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan.
He said WHO has already shipped supplies of personal protective equipment to 57 countries, and is preparing to ship to a further 28.
They have also shipped laboratory supplies to 120 countries, and have published a research and development roadmap with a set of core protocols for how studies should be done.
Dr. Tedros urged everybody to avail of the WHO resources to help them fight the virus.
“As I keep saying, we’re all in this together,” he said.
(Eagle News Service)
