Many international locations haven’t reached their peak in instances of the extremely transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus and measures imposed to curb its unfold must be eased slowly, the World Well being Group’s technical lead on COVID-19 stated on Tuesday.
“We’re urging warning as a result of many international locations haven’t gone via the height of Omicron but. Many international locations have low ranges of vaccination protection with very susceptible people inside their populations,” Maria Van Kerkhove advised a web based briefing.
“And so now will not be the time to carry the whole lot unexpectedly. We have now at all times urged, at all times (be) very cautious, in making use of interventions in addition to lifting these interventions in a gentle and in a gradual approach, piece by piece. As a result of this virus is sort of dynamic,” she added.
WHO Director-Basic Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated the U.N. company was involved a few narrative taking maintain in some international locations that “due to vaccines, and due to Omicron’s excessive transmissibility and decrease severity, stopping transmission is not doable, and not crucial.
“Nothing might be farther from the reality,” Tedros advised the briefing. “Extra transmission means extra deaths. We aren’t calling for any nation to return to so-called lockdown. However we’re calling on all international locations to guard their individuals utilizing each instrument within the toolkit, not vaccines alone.”
He added: “It’s untimely for any nation to give up or to declare victory.”
WHO’s emergencies chief Mike Ryan, addressing the identical briefing, urged international locations to chart their very own path out of the pandemic and never blindly comply with others in stress-free measures.
“I feel it’s a transition section for a lot of international locations, not each nation in the identical state of affairs. These international locations who’re making selections to open up extra broadly additionally should be positive of capability to reintroduce measures, with group acceptance, if wanted. In order if we open the doorways rapidly, you higher be very nicely capable of shut them in a short time as nicely.”
Denmark and Austria final week grew to become the most recent international locations https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/some-european-states-plan-ease-covid-curbs-others-seek-tighten-2022-01-26 to chill out COVID-19 restrictions, after related strikes by Britain, Eire and the Netherlands, although different European nations deliberate new curbs to battle file numbers of infections.
In a separate on-line briefing earlier on Tuesday, Dr. Boris Pavlin of WHO’s COVID-19 Response Workforce stated the rising BA.2 type of Omicron doesn’t appear to be any extra extreme than the unique BA.1 type.
The worldwide response to the pandemic has created tens of 1000’s of tonnes of medical waste, together with discarded syringes, used check kits and previous vaccine bottles, threatening human well being and the setting, a WHO report stated.
(Reuters)