WHO chief unveils conditions for lifting restrictions due to coronavirus

The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised concerns about several EU countries profoundly affected by the coronavirus that is lifting their restrictions too soon, adding that this could lead to a deadly resurgence of the infection.

As per some countries who decided to lift the order of staying home, the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the way down could be as dangerous as the way up if not appropriately managed, Report says, citing RIA Novosti.

The WHO chief said that authorities could make a decision of lifting restrictions when the transmission process could be successfully controlled and when there could be sufficient public health and medical services available. The health system must detect, test, isolate, and treat every case of COVID-19.

He also added that for such a decision, countries must ensure that the preventive measures are in place in workplaces, schools, and other places.

“While COVID-19 accelerates very fast, it decelerates much more slowly. In other words, the way down is much slower than the way up. That means control measures must be lifted slowly and with control. It cannot happen all at once.”

Ghebreyesus also noted that it is necessary to deal with the risk of imported infections.

The coronavirus, which emerged in China over three months ago, has infected more than 1.9 million people worldwide and killed at least 115,000 people.

On March 11, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a new coronavirus a pandemic.