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The World Health Organization warned that a premature lifting of restrictions on people’s movements by countries fighting the coronavirus pandemic could lead to a “deadly resurgence” as global deaths from the virus approached to 100,000.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO chief, said he was working with countries on ways in which blockades could be gradually eased, but said doing it too quickly could be dangerous.
“I know that some countries are already planning the transition to get out of the restrictions of staying at home. The WHO wants to see the restrictions lifted as much as anyone, “he said at a virtual press conference in Geneva. “At the same time, lifting restrictions too quickly could lead to a deadly resurgence. The descent can be as dangerous as the climb if it is not handled properly ”.
America’s top infectious disease expert also warned against measures to relax the restrictions, echoing calls from other global public health officials, but disagreeing with Donald Trump, who is agitating for the reopening of the economy. American crowned by the coronavirus.
Anthony Fauci said that “now is not the time to withdraw” from the restrictions, despite what he described as “favorable signs” in the first critical points of the United States.
“We would like to see a clear indication that you were going very, very clearly and strongly in the right direction, because the only thing you don’t want to do is that you don’t want to leave prematurely and then end up back in the same situation,” he told CNN on senior adviser to the White House.
Trump, apparently concerned about deflating approval ratings and the explosion in unemployment figures, had told reporters that the United States was at the “top of the hill” and that it hoped to open up the economy “very, very, very, very soon”.
According to a report in the Washington Post, the President of the United States wants to reopen the country next month despite concerns from economists and health experts that the United States’ coronavirus pandemic is not near.
Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, also warned Trump not to try to return to normal prematurely. “I hope the scientific community steps in and says, ‘You can’t do this, it will only make things worse if you go out too soon,'” Pelosi said in an interview with Politico.
Deaths in the United States from the coronavirus topped 17,000 on Friday, although there were signs that Americans who stayed home were holding back new infections. More than 7,000 people have died in New York state alone, but its governor, Andrew Cuomo, on Friday expressed cautious optimism that the state’s infection rate was slowing.
In the last signal of tensions with the EE. The US, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the outbreak as too slow.
In a preview of an interview for Der Spiegel, Maas pointed to the two extremes of national responses to the coronavirus, contrasting China’s “very authoritarian measures” with the United States’ decision to minimize the threat “for a long time.”
“These are two extremes, neither of which can be a model for Europe,” said Maas.
Last week, a German official accused the United States of “wild west” tactics to offer or block shipments of vital medical supplies, and Maas said he expected the United States to reconsider its international relations in light of the crisis.
“Let’s see to what extent the actions of the US government will lead to discussions in the US about whether the ‘America First’ model really works,” he said.
In Asia, China intervened in a growing dispute between the World Health Organization and Taiwan, accusing the Taiwanese government of “unscrupulously using the virus to seek independence.”
The WHO and Taiwan have been commercializing allegations in recent days, largely stemming from Taiwan’s continued exclusion from WHO membership and activities due to lobbying by China, which claims Taiwan as Chinese territory. Earlier this week, Tedros said he had been subjected to months of racist attacks that he said were condoned by Taiwan. Taiwan says the allegations are unsubstantiated and has apologized.
In Europe, Italian newspapers reported that the government was ready to extend the containment measures that would expire from April 13 to May 3. Authorities used helicopters, drones, and intensified police controls to make sure people don’t leave their homes during the Easter holidays.
Spain’s blockade, which went into effect on March 14, will also remain in effect, its health minister said on Friday. But some nonessential workers will begin returning to their jobs Monday at the end of a two-week freeze on all non-vital economic activity, despite warnings that loosening the strict confinement policy could lead to increased contagion.
In other developments:
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The first confirmed case was announced in war-torn Yemen, fueling fears of an outbreak that could devastate its already crippled healthcare system.
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In Kenya’s capital Nairobi, people were desperate for food because restrictions on the coronavirus prevented them from earning a living by pushing through a door at a district office in the slum of Kibera.
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Fifty crew members aboard France’s only aircraft carrier, Charles de Gaulle, tested positive and parts of the ship were blocked. A statement from the armed forces ministry said three sailors had been evacuated by air to a military hospital in Toulon on the south coast, the carrier’s home port. The aircraft carrier, which is equipped with its own intensive care facilities, has 1,760 people on board.
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A Yanomami teenager became the first indigenous person to die from the virus in Brazil. Meanwhile, the country’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, one of the few world leaders who still denies the threat of the virus, was booed and booed in the capital, Brasilia, after going to a bakery for a donut.
