COVID-19 New Strategic Advice : Time To Be Careful, Patient, Vigilant

As people prepare for a new but normal lifestyle as lockdown restrictions ease, the Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a media briefing on Monday, April 13, 2020 on COVID-19 said his organisation will publish an updated strategic advice with six criteria countries considering lifting control measures against Covid-19 should meet. The WHO Boss said while Covid-19 accelerates very fast, it decelerates more slowly and therefore control measures must be lifted slowly. “Lockdowns must be lifted strategically, and not all at once, countries with lower numbers of cases can begin easing restrictions. But measures such as physical distancing and hand washing will stay in place even after lockdowns are lifted”, WHO officials underlined at the media briefing. 
It was recalled that half the world’s population has been under some form of lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19. While many are eager to see restrictions lifted, especially as numbers stabilize in some countries, we must remain patient and vigilant, said officials at the press briefing. “It may be a little bit longer that you have to remain at home,” said Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, Technical Lead of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme. Countries seeing their numbers stabilize should not believe the worst is over, “now is the time for vigilance,” said Michael J. Ryan, Chief Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme.
To support countries in easing lockdown restrictions, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said WHO’s new strategy summarises what have been learned as far as the virus is concerned and charts the way forward. These six criteria for countries as they consider lifting restriction focus on making sure that firstly, transmission is controlled; secondly, that health system capacities are in place to detect, test, isolate ...