World Health Organization (WHO) warns - loosening isolation rules may trigger a second peak in coronavirus infection.
During a media briefing on Monday, Dr. Mike Ryan, Executive Director of WHO's Health Emergencies Program warned that we were still in the first wave of COVID-19 infections worldwide.
WHO representatives have emphasized several times that the situation when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic can hardly be considered controlled. The upcoming months, in which most European countries plan to loosen the provisions introduced at the beginning of the pandemic, will be very important, according to the WHO, in terms of further control of the spread of coronavirus.
- All countries must remain on alert. All countries still need to be ready to detect cases quickly, even those with the largest decrease in infections, says Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO epidemiologist for infectious diseases.
If we ignore the WHO guidelines, according to its experts, we can be exposed to the so-called the second peak in the number of infected before the flu season, during which the second wave of coronavirus infection is heralded.
The coronavirus will stay with us at least until the end of this year
It is difficult to consider the theses put forward by WHO experts as overly revealing. It is quite obvious that without developing an effective vaccine or even a proven and effective method of treatment for COVID-19, our strategy to fight this disease is still based on sticking to hygiene principles, avoiding public gatherings and relative isolation from people, each of whom in theory can be a virus carrier.
Following this line of reasoning, it is difficult to disagree with the theory that a return to a normal lifestyle - that is, before a pandemic is announced, will increase the risk of coronavirus infection.
- A characteristic feature of coronaviruses is their ability to evolve and strengthen in certain circumstances. The virus is very contagious. If we give him such an opportunity, he will strike again - warns Maria Van Kerkhove.
Of course, epidemiologists' priority is to minimize the number of new infections. This goal, unfortunately, is quite difficult to reconcile with other aspects of state management. The introduced rules on social isolation have had a negative impact on global economic indicators. A good example is the record number of unemployed in the US .
The current situation does not give many opportunities to politicians - either we are waiting for further loosening of the introduced rules and a possible increase in the number of infected, or further sitting at home and watching the global economy fall into a deeper recession. So maybe it's worth accepting that coronavirus is another pathogen we'll just have to get used to. At least until an effective vaccine has been developed. If any, it will be created at all.
WHO warns: a return to old habits will result in the second peak incidence of COVID-19
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