Countries can’t simply lockdown to defeat coronavirus, there need to be public health measures to avoid a resurgence of the virus later on: WHO’s Mike Ryan
London| Countries can’t simply lockdown their societies to defeat coronavirus, the World Health Organisation’s top emergency expert said on Sunday, adding that there need to be public health measures 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 lockdown is, If we don’t put in place strong public health measures now, when these lockdowns are lifted, the danger is the disease will jump back up.”
Nearly one billion people around the world were confined to their homes on Sunday, as the coronavirus death toll crossed 13,000 and factories were shut in worst-hit Italy after another single-day fatalities record.
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The raging pandemic has forced lockdowns in 35 countries, disrupting lives, travel and businesses as governments scramble to shut borders and unleash hundreds of billions in emergency measures to avoid a widespread virus-fuelled economic meltdown.
More than 300,000 infections have been confirmed worldwide, with the situation increasingly grim in Italy where the death toll spiked to more than 4,800 — over a third of the global total.
(Inputs From Reuters)
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