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PAHO urged countries in the Americas on Tuesday to “be cautious” with the de-escalation of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, warning that transmission “is still very high” in United States, Canada, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Mexico.
“Reducing restrictions too soon could accelerate the spread of the virus and open the door to a dramatic increase or spread to adjacent areas.”, said the director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Carissa Etienne, during a videoconference with journalists.
Etienne said that in many areas of the region the number of new coronavirus infections multiplies in just days.
“In the United States, Canada, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Mexico we are seeing cases that double in four days or less”, he pointed.
“This is a worrying indicator that tells us that transmission is still very high in those countries, and that they must implement the full range of public health measures available: comprehensive testing, contact tracing (when contagions are verified), case isolation and, of course, social distancing ”, he added.
Etienne raised the alarm particularly in Haiti, where PAHO fears an outbreak of cases.
“There is a real danger of a large-scale outbreak followed by a humanitarian crisis in Haiti,” he said.
“Perfect storm”
In the Caribbean, most countries are in the early stages of their outbreaks, with the Dominican Republic, a neighbor of Haiti, registering the highest number of cases.
Etienne said that in Haiti the majority of the population does not have access to drinking water or sanitation and lives crowded without the possibility of social distancing, and there is danger of famine due to food insecurity.
“The situation has been described as a perfect storm approaching”, he claimed.
Given the “mosaic” of the epidemiological diversity of the American continent, PAHO works with each country to determine disease trends in each context.
However, Etienne urged all countries to be prudent in reopening their economies, as well as to make informed political decisions (from screening, case and death tests and the availability of health services) and to focus on local needs.
“We must all continue to act aggressively to contain the spread” of the new coronavirus, Etienne noted.
“The social and economic pressure we are seeing now will be even greater if we do not contain the virus, if we remove control measures prematurely and overwhelm the capacity of our health systems,” he said.
Half-humanity has been forced to confine themselves to their homes since mid-March to stem the spread of the new coronavirus, first reported in December in China, but those measures are beginning to lift in many regions as cases decline.
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