Contacts of people confirmed to have coronavirus should be properly quarantined, the World Health Organization said on Monday, as the pandemic increases in Europe and North America WHO Michael Ryan has linked soaring transmission rates in the northern hemisphere to failure to rigorously implement the vital step He said if he could have one wish it would be to ensure that « every contact of a confirmed case is in quarantine for the appropriate period »
« I don’t think this has happened systematically, anywhere, » he told a virtual press conference from WHO headquarters in Geneva, saying it was « a much of the reason we’re seeing such high numbers «
Ryan said that about half of the 48 countries in the United Nations health agency’s European region have seen an increase of about 50% in cases over the past week – and that hospitalizations and death rates were starting to follow these increasesHowever, it was hoped that deaths and severe cases would not reach the levels seen earlier this year
Ryan said the average age of those affected is now much younger, treatment has improved, and those infected may have been exposed to lower doses of the virus due to physical remoteness and wearing a mask
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 40 million on Monday, with more than 1 million dead WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of people having had enough of the pandemic and the measures imposed to control it
« We are here for the long haul, but there is hope that if we make smart choices together we can reduce the cases, » he said « I know there is fatigue, but the virus has shown that when we let our guard down it can rebound at breakneck speed and threaten hospitals and health systems »
According to the WHO, 42 potential vaccines are currently being tested in humans, 10 of which have reached the third and final stage 156 more are being developed in laboratories for testing in humans
WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said while one or two trials could report data by the end of the year, most would start doing so in early 2021
« Some of the vaccines, certainly, are showing promising results, even in the elderly, » Swaminathan said, referring to drugs that have undergone second-stage testing
Meanwhile, WHO has teamed up with Kim Sledge of American disco group Sister Sledge for a remake of their 1979 hit « We Are Family », to underscore the appeal of the United Nations health agency United in global solidarity
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