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GENEVA (REUTERS) – The World Health Organization’s top emergency expert said on Monday (November 30) that the world is at risk of future pandemics if it suffers “amnesia” and does not learn from the current coronavirus crisis.
“I have seen the amnesia that seems to descend on the world after a traumatic event, and that is understandable,” Mike Ryan said at a briefing in Geneva.
“But if we do this again like we did after Sars, like we did after H5N1, like we did after the H1N1 pandemic, if we continue to ignore the realities of what emerging and dangerous pathogens can do to our civilization, then it is we will likely experience the same or worse again within our lives, “he said.
Ryan also attacked developed nations, saying that northern countries had been operating healthcare systems “like low-cost airlines” and that the world was paying for it now.
“In the north, because of the cost model for health systems, we have designed our health systems to be delivered at 95%, 98%, with 100% efficiency. It’s almost like a low-cost airline model. for the provision of health services “. he said.
“Well, we are paying a price for that now, by not having that additional scalability built into the system, seeing health as a cost center in our economy, seeing health as a drain on development, as a reversal of the economy, and we have to go back to what that means. “
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also urged countries not to politicize the search for the origins of the new coronavirus, saying that would only create barriers to knowing the truth.
“We need to know the origin of this virus because it can help us prevent future outbreaks,” Tedros said.
“There is nothing to hide. We want to know the origin, and that’s it.”
The administration of US President Donald Trump, which has accused China of hiding the scope of the outbreak and the Geneva-based world health body of being too close to Beijing, has criticized the terms of an international investigation led by the WHO on the origin of the pandemic.
Chinese state media have said the virus existed abroad before it was discovered in central China’s Wuhan city, citing the presence of the coronavirus in imported frozen food packaging and scientific papers saying it had been circulating in China. Europe last year.
Ski season
Ryan also urged nations to carefully consider the risks of the upcoming ski season, as Switzerland runs on lifts and Austria considers doing the same, while Germany, Italy and France shut down mountain operations to curb the pandemic.
The WHO has discouraged unnecessary vacation travel and highlighted the dangers lurking in crowds at airports or crowded restaurants and gondolas, but did not come up with a specific recommendation on whether countries should allow snow sports this winter.
Instead, the agency said nations should take a “risk-based approach,” deciding which activities can continue and which should be postponed, and if they cannot be postponed, how they can be done safely to minimize new infections. Allowing ski resorts to operate goes far beyond skiing itself, Ryan said.
“A lot of people won’t get infected running down the slopes on their skis. The real problems will come in airports, on buses, on ski lifts, tight spots in the skiing experience where people flock to large numbers,” he said Ryan. .
“We ask that all countries look at the ski season and other reasons for mass gatherings and look very, very carefully at the associated risks.”
The government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday urged European Union member states not to undermine the pandemic, lowering contact restrictions by allowing skiing at the start of the season, a stark contrast to the Swiss, whose High-altitude resorts have been open for weeks, with required masks in the elevators. in a nod to the nation’s tourism economy.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has left the door open to skiing in the coming weeks, while France keeps the lifts closed at Christmas and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has told his country that “holidays in the snow “would not be possible.
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