[ad_1]
A leading Covid-19 expert is “irate” after a World Health Organization (WHO) official called on world leaders to stop using shutdowns as the primary method of controlling the pandemic.
WHO’s special envoy on Covid-19, Dr. David Nabarro, told the British magazine The viewer that the locks should only be used to buy time for the authorities to establish systems that allow society to live with the virus.
But his comments are “inappropriate” and do not apply to New Zealand and other Pacific countries where lockdowns have worked, according to epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker, who advises the New Zealand government on Covid-19.
“David Nabarro is one of his most veteran advisers and he really likes to say some things,” he said.
READ MORE:
* Covid-19: ‘New Zealand is in an advantageous position,’ says WHO spokesperson
* Coronavirus: An Auckland man with Covid-19 dies at Middlemore Hospital, the new group’s first death
* Coronavirus Shutdown, Relax, Repeat: How The World’s Cities Are Returning To Covid-19 Restrictions
Ross Giblin / Stuff
Michael Baker says the closures have worked in New Zealand.
“When they refer to blockade, they mean suppression, but for countries that seek elimination, the blockade has saved us. This advice is certainly inappropriate for New Zealand. “
The WHO is Eurocentric and focuses on low-income countries, he explained. He has “consistently” given advice that is not suitable for New Zealand.
“They delayed the declaration of a pandemic and said that countries should not close their borders, and their advice now is against closure.
“That is the opposite of what has been successful in this region.”
China, which has mostly eliminated Covid-19 after quarantining tens of millions of its citizens, snapped a two-month streak of no virus transmission on Monday, when nine hospital-related cases were announced.
“China protects 1.4 billion people. Their economy is thriving and they have a very low death rate, even lower than ours, ”Baker said.
Dr. Margaret Harris, a spokeswoman for the World Health Organization, said she sees the closed closures as a final recourse, after public health measures and contact tracing have failed.
“We’re not saying you can’t do them, but we’re saying it wasn’t the first thing you did,” he said on RNZ. Morning report.
“If you get to a point where the virus gets ahead of you, then you take drastic action.”
