Many countries have not reached their peak of cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus and the restrictions imposed to curb its spread must be relaxed slowly, said the technical head of the World Health Organization for Covid-19.
“We call for caution because many countries have not yet gone through the peak of Omicron. Many countries have low levels of vaccination coverage with very vulnerable individuals within their populations,” Maria Van Kerkhove told an online briefing.
“And that’s why it’s not the time now to withdraw everything at once. We’re always encouraged to be very careful about applying interventions and lifting them up slowly, step by step. Because this virus is quite dynamic, “he added.
In the same briefing, WHO emergency chief Mike Ryan urged countries to determine their own path out of the pandemic and not blindly follow others in mitigation measures.
He said he feared that political pressure could lead some countries to reopen their societies prematurely, leading to unnecessary new broadcasts of Covid-19 and deaths.
“I think this is a transitional phase for many countries, not all of them are in the same situation. The countries that are making the decision to make a wider opening must also ensure that measures can be reinstated, with the adoption of the community, if necessary, ”he said.
“So if we open doors quickly, we might as well close them very quickly.”
Both Van Kerkhove and the WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed concern about the continuing increase in the number of deaths due to Covid-19 in some countries. “It is premature for any country to surrender or declare victory,” Tedros said.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx