WHO Chief urges Europe to ease coronavirus containment measures with caution

GENEVA: World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the European countries must find, isolate, test, and treat all cases of COVID-19 while easing their containment measures.

“As lockdowns in Europe ease with declining numbers of new cases, we continue to urge countries to find, isolate, test and treat all cases of coronavirus and trace every contact, to ensure this declining trend continues in the continent,” the WHO chief said in a virtual press conference.

Ghebreyesus added that although there is no question that stay-at-home orders and other physical distancing measures have limited coronavirus transmission in several countries, the virus remains “extremely dangerous.

“He further said that early evidence suggests that most of the world’s population remains susceptible to the virus.”To end the COVID-19 pandemic, the world needs unity and solidarity at the national and global levels, to ensure equal access to solutions and innovations, to strengthen preparedness and health systems in countries,” Ghebreyesus later wrote on Twitter.

As of Monday, Europe has reported a total of 1,341,851 confirmed cases and 122,218 deaths, according to WHO. Meanwhile, the global confirmed COVID-19 cases stand at 2,878,196 with 198,668 fatalities.