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Tedros Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, warns that opening companies without controlling the transmission of the covid-19 virus is the “recipe for disaster.”
“After 8 months, people are tired and want to get on with their lives and countries want to get the economy back. This is also what the WHO wants,” Tedros said, admitting the economic impact of the pandemic. According to him, the agency supports efforts to reopen economies and societies.
“We want children to go back to school and we want people to go back to work. But we want this to happen safely,” he said. “WHO wants economies to open up. We must do everything we can to open up. But we have to do everything we can to suppress transmission,” said the director.
“Countries cannot imagine that the pandemic is over. It is a fatal virus and it is spreading rapidly,” he insisted. “If governments are serious about opening up their societies, they must be serious about ending broadcasting,” Tedros said.
“This balance can be done. It may seem impossible. But it is not,” he said. According to him, this can be done when there is a control over the transmission.
“Opening without virus control is a recipe for disaster,” Tedros insisted. According to him, there is no single plan for all countries.
But he lists four points that everyone should follow:
1. Prevent events that could amplify the pandemic
According to Tedros, crowds in stadiums and clubs can be critical and preventing such events is “critical.” For WHO, it is possible to organize some of these events safely. But she does not rule out that some are postponed.
The director of the agency recalled how two massive events at the beginning of the year were fundamental for the spread of the virus. One was a football match in northern Italy, valid for the Champions League and with 40,000 people in the stadium. The other example was the maintenance of open churches in South Korea.
According to Tedros, governments must prevent these events in order to save their societies and economies. “We can live without going to the stadium and we are doing it,” he said.
Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical director, asked young people to work with the rest of the community to find ways to improve their lives. She acknowledged that some of the new shoots come from parties and entertainment events. “We need to create a new normal,” he declared.
2. Reduce deaths and moral failure
The second WHO recommendation is to focus on protecting the elderly, the sick and healthcare professionals, which would reduce the number of deaths. “By protecting these people, governments can save lives and remove pressure on health services,” Tedros said.
The director reported how, in one country, his team heard from the local government that they were not concerned about the deaths, as they mainly affected the elderly. “This is a moral failure. We cannot be morally dead,” he criticized, without citing the country.
“Accepting that someone dies of age is moral bankruptcy at its peak. We cannot let society be like this,” he insisted. For him, there is a balance that can be found.
3. Maintain individual protection
The WHO recipe is for each person to protect themselves, adopting a posture of standing one meter away, washing their hands, wearing masks and avoiding crowds.
For Maria van Kerkhove, “The new normal includes changes in our daily lives, like keeping our distance. We have to live with the virus while we take steps to suppress it,” she said.
4. Find the cases
Finally, Tedros suggests that governments expand their work to find positive cases and then isolate them and trace all contacts. For the WHO, with the tests, governments can avoid generalized quarantines and adopt specific measures.
