{"id":263769,"date":"2020-08-02T05:15:27","date_gmt":"2020-08-02T09:15:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=263769"},"modified":"2020-08-02T05:15:27","modified_gmt":"2020-08-02T09:15:27","slug":"un-health-agency-must-learn-to-live-with-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/08\/02\/un-health-agency-must-learn-to-live-with-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"UN health agency: ‘Must learn to live with Covid-19’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the remarks at a high-level committee meeting six months after it declared coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) a public health emergency. (File photo<\/a>: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

GENEVA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The World Health Organization noted that the world must learn to live with the coronavirus and fight it with the tools it has, despite efforts to develop a vaccine going on at record speed.<\/p>\n

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the remarks at a high-level committee meeting six months after it declared coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) a public health emergency.<\/p>\n

“It’s sobering to think that six months ago when you (the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee) recommended I declare a public health emergency of international concern, there were less than 100 cases and no deaths outside China,” Tedros said on Friday.<\/p>\n

He said that since the onset of the virus, many scientific questions had been resolved, and many remain unanswered.<\/p>\n

The emergency committee is always cautious in its pronouncements and on Friday it reevaluated the Covid-19 emergency status.<\/p>\n

Before Covid-19, WHO declared a public health emergency for swine flu, polio, Zika, and Ebola.<\/p>\n

Tedros said: “Early results from serology studies are painting a consistent picture: most of the world’s people remain susceptible to this virus, even in areas that have experienced severe outbreaks.<\/p>\n

“Many countries that believed they were past the worst are now grappling with new outbreaks,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He said some countries, less affected in the earliest weeks, are now seeing escalating numbers of cases and deaths, while some that had large outbreaks have brought them under control.<\/p>\n

“Although vaccine development is happening at record speed, we must learn to live with this virus, and we must fight it with the tools we have,” said Tedros.<\/p>\n

Tedros said a complete understanding of the epidemiology and global risk posed by this novel virus requires systematic serologic testing, which reveals critical information.<\/p>\n

“Serologic testing detects antibodies in the blood that indicate if a person has already been infected,” said the WHO chief. “It tells us how frequently infection occurs among different populations, how many people have had a mild or asymptomatic infection, and how many people have been infected but may not have been identified by routine disease surveillance.”<\/p>\n

Tedros said serologic testing might reveal what proportion of the population could be immune in the future.<\/p>\n

“This will allow local, national, and international decision-makers to respond collectively, and more effectively, to the pandemic,” he said.\u00a0(Anadolu)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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