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The World Health Organization has urged governments to engage with people protesting against Covid-19 restrictions and listen to their concerns, but protesters stressed that they must understand that the virus is dangerous.
When asked about recent demonstrations in various countries against coronavirus restrictions, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was important to “hear what people ask, what people say.”
“We must have an honest dialogue,” he told reporters, stressing that protesters have a responsibility to ensure that protests are safe.
“The virus is real. It is dangerous. It moves fast and it kills,” he said, insisting that “we have to do everything we can to protect ourselves and protect others.”
German police on Saturday stopped a march in Berlin by tens of thousands of people who opposed coronavirus restrictions in the largest of several European protests against the mask rules and other antivirus restrictions.
Several hundred Berlin protesters then broke through barriers and a police cordon to storm the German parliament, in a move German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned as “shameful.”
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Speaking about the broader protests, WHO’s emergency chief Michael Ryan noted that “epidemics and emergencies create strong emotions, and acceptance of measures is always very, very tough.”
“It is really important that governments do not overreact to people protesting against the measures,” he said at the virtual briefing.
“The really important thing is to start a dialogue with the groups.”
While acknowledging the importance of allowing different points of view to be heard, Mr. Tedros disagreed with views expressed by some that high death rates were not really a concern if it is primarily the elderly who are dying.
He said, “Accepting that someone dies due to age is moral bankruptcy at its highest, and we must not allow our society to behave in this way.”
“Every life, young or old, is precious. And we have to do everything we can to save it.”
Tedros expressed his understanding for the growing frustration felt as people continue to have to deal with restrictions eight months after the pandemic.
He said: “We understand that people are tired and yearn to get on with their lives. We understand that countries want their societies and economies to work again.”
The UN health agency, he emphasized, “fully supports efforts to reopen economies and societies … but we want it to be done safely.”
He also insisted that “no country can simply pretend that the pandemic is over.”
“If countries are serious about openness, they must get serious about suppressing transmission and saving lives,” he said, insisting that “opening up without control is a recipe for disaster.”
One important thing countries could do to control the virus is to prevent so-called “amplification events” such as filling stadiums with sports fans, large religious gatherings, or packed nightclubs.
Tedros said: “Avoid these amplifying events so the other economic sectors can really open up and the economy can come back to life.”
“I think we can live without going to the stadium.”
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