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As some countries around the world gradually ease the blockade restrictions imposed in an attempt to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, the World Health Organization said it may never be completely eliminated.
A Gauteng Health Department official collects samples from a man during a door-to-door COVID-19 coronavirus screening test in Yeoville, Johannesburg, on April 3, 2020. Image: AFP
GENEVA – The new coronavirus may never go away, and populations around the world will have to learn to live with it, the World Health Organization warned on Wednesday.
As some countries around the world gradually begin to ease the blocking restrictions imposed in an attempt to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, the WHO said it may never be completely eliminated.
The virus first emerged in Wuhan in China late last year and has since infected more than 4.2 million people and killed nearly 300,000 worldwide.
“We have a new virus entering the human population for the first time and therefore it is very difficult to predict when we will prevail over it,” said Michael Ryan, WHO director of emergencies.
“This virus can become another endemic virus in our communities and this virus will never go away,” he said at a virtual press conference in Geneva.
“HIV has not disappeared, but we have come to terms with the virus.”
More than half of humanity has been subjected to some form of blockade since the coronavirus crisis began.
But the WHO cautioned that there was no way to guarantee that easing the restrictions would not trigger a second wave of infections.
“Many countries would like to get out of the different measures,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“But our recommendation remains that the alert in any country should be at the highest possible level.”
‘A LONG WAY TO GO’
Ryan added that there was a “long, long way to go” on the road to getting back to normal, insisting that countries would have to stay the course.
“There is a magical thinking going on that locks work flawlessly and that unlocking locks will be excellent. Both are fraught with danger,” said the Irish epidemiologist.
Ryan also condemned the attacks on health workers linked to the pandemic, saying that in April alone there were more than 35 “fairly serious” incidents in 11 countries.
He said the attacks were often overreactions from misinformed communities, while others were more sinister.
“COVID-19 is bringing out the best in us, but it is also bringing out some of the worst,” he said.
“People feel empowered to take out their frustrations on people who are just trying to help.
“These are senseless acts of violence and discrimination that must be resisted.”
But he insisted that finding a way to conquer the virus was an opportunity for humanity to take a big step forward in finding a vaccine and making it widely accessible.
“It is a great opportunity for the world,” said Ryan.
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