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Original title: WHO: No country can pretend the epidemic is over, 90% of countries’ medical services have been interrupted
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The stronger the ability of countries to control the virus, the more capacity they will have to open up.
On August 31 local time, the Director General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told a press conference in Geneva that no country can pretend that the 2019 COVID-19 pandemic is over. The fact is, this viral disease is still spreading very easily, it is fatal to people of all ages, and most people are still susceptible to infection. He stressed that uncontrolled opening can lead to disaster.
Tedros said: “This pandemic has been going on for eight months. We know that people are exhausted and longing for a normal life. We also understand that all countries want to get their societies and economies back on track. This is also the WHO I want to see. But if the country is really going to open up, so they must show a serious attitude to stop the spread and save lives. “
Tan Desai said that opening up while the transmission is suppressed seems like an impossible balance, but it isn’t, it can be done and people have done it, but it can only be done if the state controls the transmission. A. He stressed that the stronger the ability of countries to control the virus, the more ability they have to open up.
Tan Desai said that to reduce pressure on the healthcare system, some countries have adopted orders and other restrictive measures that require people to stay at home, but these measures have caused serious damage to livelihoods, the economy and the mental health. WHO fully supports efforts to reopen the economy and society. You expect children to go back to school and people return to work, but at the same time you hope that all of this will be done safely.
Tedros said that open politics is not one-size-fits-all, nor is it completely open or completely closed.
According to the latest statistics from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, as of 10:30 on September 1 Beijing time, the total number of confirmed cases of new corona worldwide exceeded 25.4 million and the number accumulated deaths exceeded 840,000. The number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection in the United States reached 6,028,617 and the death toll due to the new coronavirus infection increased to 183,579.
Four basic questions related to openness
Tedros said that all countries, communities and individuals must pay attention to four basic issues to control the situation.
First, avoid surge events. He said that in many countries, people have seen outbreaks related to crowds in stadiums, nightclubs and places of worship. Preventing these magnification events is crucial, but decisions about how and when to allow people to gather together must be made in a risk-based manner in the local context.
He said countries or communities experiencing significant community transmission may need to postpone the event for a short period of time to reduce transmission. On the other hand, countries or communities with sporadic cases or small differentials can find creative ways to hold events while minimizing risks.
Second, reduce deaths by protecting vulnerable groups, including the elderly, people with underlying diseases, and workers in key positions. He said countries that do well in this regard can cope with low levels of transmission when they open up. By protecting those most at risk, the state can save lives, keep people from getting seriously ill, and reduce pressure on the healthcare system.
Third, people need to play their role and take the steps we know to protect themselves and others: stay at least one meter away from others, wash hands frequently, maintain breathing tag, and wear More expensive. Avoid closed spaces, crowded places and close contact with the environment.
Fourth, the government must take specific actions to discover, isolate, test and address cases, and trace and isolate contacts. He said that if countries adopt temporary and geographically targeted interventions, they can avoid implementing a wide range of measures without leaving home.
Countries must actively detect suspected new corona cases
On August 27, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its guidance and recommendations on testing for novel coronaviruses. The new guide suggests that if there are no symptoms, close contacts do not have to be screened, which has raised concerns from medical experts.
In response, Mike Lane, Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program, said at an online press conference on August 28 that countries should conduct active testing to find cases of new coronavirus infection, especially in the case of Cluster infections, but leave It is not realistic for everyone in all countries to test, so testing strategies need to pay more attention to results and quality.
“The most important thing is not necessarily the number of tests, but to maintain a high level of test rate. The speed at which test results are published is also important. Getting results in a week or 10 days will make it difficult track contacts effectively. Therefore, the most important part of the testing strategy is deciding on the test group, focusing on suspected cases, getting these people tested and getting results as soon as possible, initiating health actions public or quarantine contacts or conduct investigations on cluster infections, “Lane said.
Maria Van Kelkhoff, director of WHO’s new corona virus technology, said at the same press conference:When investigating cluster infections, it may be necessary to expand the scope of testing to find people with mild or asymptomatic symptoms. Most importantly, making testing an opportunity to find active cases so they can isolate themselves, while tracing and isolating all close contacts at the same time is the key to breaking the chain of transmission. “
Lane noted that for clusters of cases, those who may be exposed should undergo extensive testing, including those who have not yet developed symptoms or are asymptomatic. They can infect other people, so the return on investment for testing is relatively high. “At present, large-scale testing is not very useful in many countries. It is resource-intensive and requires powerful capabilities to do so. Therefore, we must focus on testing the right people and improving the quality of crowd testing. as much as possible. And the speed at which the test results are obtained. “
For asymptomatic infected people, what methods exist to identify and understand the risk of transmission? Van Kelkhoff said there are two main investigation methods, one is contact tracing and the other is cluster outbreak investigation. But he stressed that it is not necessary to test all of them, which is not feasible.
90%National medical services disrupted by the epidemic
The World Health Organization released its first indicator survey report on August 31. The results show that since the outbreak of the new corona epidemic, key medical services in 90% of the world’s countries have been affected, even the most powerful medical system is difficult to resist in the face of the epidemic. Affected by the epidemic, many non-urgently needed and routine services have been suspended in most countries, and key services such as cancer screening and treatment and AIDS treatment have also been suspended in countries of low income.
According to the WHO, the 25 medical services involved in the survey are affected by an average of 50%. The most severely affected areas are: Routine immunization (70% of the impact rate of vaccination services outside of medical institutions is affected and within medical institutions The impact rate of the service is 61%), diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable diseases (69%), family planning and contraception (68%), mental health treatment (61%), and diagnosis and treatment of cancer (55%).
Other areas that are more frequently affected include malaria diagnosis and treatment (46%), tuberculosis detection and treatment (42%), and antiretroviral therapy (32%).
The WHO stated that although the suspension of health services such as dental and rehabilitation is a planned action in accordance with government regulations for the prevention of epidemics, the suspension of many other medical services is useless and is expected to have adverse effects on the public health.
The survey showed that almost a quarter of countries were unable to provide life-saving medical services during the epidemic. Among them, 22% of 24-hour emergency services were affected, 23% of national emergency blood transfusion services were interrupted, and 19% of countries’ emergency blood transfusion services they stopped. The country cannot perform emergency surgeries normally.
The survey shows that lack of supplies and reduced demand are also the main factors that have affected medical services during the epidemic. 76% of the surveyed countries indicated that due to demand reduction, epidemic prevention blockages and economic difficulties, the number of outpatient services during the epidemic has decreased significantly and medical services that are not urgently needed they are usually canceled. Other influencing factors include the transfer of medical personnel to fight the epidemic. The front line of the epidemic has led to a labor shortage, as well as a shortage of medical equipment and supplies.
WHO stated that many countries have begun to adopt the organization’s recommendations to respond to the impact of the epidemic on medical services through measures such as triage of patients, online diagnosis and treatment, changing the way of dispensing of medicines and the promotion of public health. But at the same time, although the World Health Organization recommends that some medical expenses be eliminated to alleviate potential financial difficulties for patients, only 14% of countries have taken a similar approach.
(Author: Zheng Qingting edit: and good)
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