The World Health Organization, WHO, on Tuesday urged
countries to apply caution in lifting COVID-19 lockdowns, warning of a
resurgence of infections if current restrictions were relaxed too soon.
Takeshi Kasai, WHO’s Regional Director for the Western
Pacific, said this during an online media briefing in Manila, NAN reports.
Kasai said that lockdown measures have proven effective by
reducing transmission of the highly infectious disease while easing the burden
on the overstretched health system.
“This is going to be a long battle. This is not the time to
relax,” Kasai said.
Instead, he stressed the need to be ready for “a new way of
living that strikes the right balance between the measures to keep the virus in
check and enable vital parts of the economy and society to function.”
Kasai urged people in the region to protect themselves,
their family and their community by physically distancing and frequently
cleaning their hands.
Others are covering coughs and sneeze as well as staying at
home and away from others, especially when sick.
He also urged the private sector to adopt new ways of
working, such as establishing staff to work from home where possible and other
measures to reduce the risk of infections in the workplace.
“For the government, this means preparing for the worst,
having a system that works in every corner of the country to detect and care
for people in case of large-scale community transmission,” he said.
Already, Kasai said, COVID-19 had upended millions of
peoples’ lives and had caused a major economic impact on the world.
He said that the governments in the region were making
“extremely complex decisions about introducing or enhancing or easing or
lifting lockdowns and physical distancing measures.
“As we move forward in these difficult times, our lives, our
health systems and approach to stopping transmission must continue to adapt and
evolve along with the epidemic.”
According to him, until a vaccine is found, the process of
adapting to the epidemic will have to become a new normal.
“There is no one-size-fits-all approach to doing this but
WHO strongly urges that decisions on measures be guided by public health
principles, the lifting of lockdowns, and other measures that need to be done
gradually.
“If restrictions are relaxed or lifted before the strong
system is in place to identify, isolate and care for this sick, and trace and
quarantine their contacts, this will likely lead to a resurgence of diseases.
“As long as the new Coronavirus is circulating, no country
is safe from potentially overwhelming outbreaks,” he said.
As at yesterday, Ghana had lifted its three weeks lock down
imposed to tackle the spread of the disease.
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