Coronavirus outbreak a “pandemic”, is it the inevitable!
The situation is certainly alarming and we need to find solutions and preparedness to deal with such health emergency. “WHO is deeply concerned by the alarming levels of the coronavirus spread, severity and inaction, and expects to see the number of cases, deaths & affected countries climb even higher. Therefore, we made the assessment that COVID19 can be characterized as a pandemic,” says World Health Organization (WHO) director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has described WHO’s announcement as “a call to action – for everyone, everywhere.” “As we fight the virus, we cannot let fear go viral. Together, we can still change the course of this pandemic – but that means addressing inaction”, he added, "The best science tells us, if countries detect, test, treat, isolate, trace and mobilize their people in the response, we can go a long way to mitigating transmission."
The economic uncertainty COVID19 has sparked will likely cost the global economy $1 trillion in 2020 and a $50 billion decrease in exports across global value chains — UN’s trade and development agency UNCTAD.
At the WHO headquarters, Tedros said , “The best way forward is the blended comprehensive approach which puts containment as a major pillar. In response to a very pertinent question whether countries should close their schools, borders and airports as a precautionary measure, head of the WHO's health emergencies response Dr Mike Ryan said that this was a decision for national governments and their actions were based on their assessment of the level of risk and the acceptability of the measure. “A much more cost-effective measure to identify those who are infected and isolate them. Reducing social distance can certainly slow down the disease, but it’s a poor substitute in countries with a lower number of cases,” he added.
- Singh Rakesh Ranjan
(Sources)
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