WHO warns : Coronavirus may never go away

The novel coronavirus may stay and never go away. The population across the globe will have to just learn to live with it, warned WHO on Wednesday.

Some countries across the globe have started to ease lockdown gradually and eased restrictions that were imposed to stop the spread of novel Coronavirus, the World Health Organisation warned it may never be eradicated entirely.

Coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan, a Chinese city at the end of last year, and has infected more than 4.2 million people since then and nearly 300,000 people have killed worldwide so far.

“We have a new virus entering the human population for the first time and therefore it is very hard to predict when we will prevail over it,” said Michael Ryan, the WHO’s emergency director.

“This virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities and this virus may never go away,” he told a virtual press conference in Geneva. “HIV has not gone away — but we have come to terms with the virus.”

The whole of humanity has been put in lockdown since the pandemic began.

However WHO has now warned that there is no guarantee that lockdown and reopening the economy would not trigger the second wave of infections.

. “Many countries would like to get out of the different measures,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“But our recommendation is still the alert at any country should be at the highest level possible.”

‘Long way to go’

Ryan said we have a long way to go to return on the normal path again and insisted that countries should follow the course.

“There is some magical thinking going on that lockdowns work perfectly and that unlocking lockdowns will go great. Both are fraught with dangers,” the Irish epidemiologist said.

Ryan also put light on the attacks on healthcare workers that are linked to the current pandemic and said more than 35 serious incidents have been recorded in April in 11 countries.

Hae said that these attacks were because of the overreaction from the poorly informed communities and others were just sinister.

“Covid-19 is bringing out the best in us, but it’s also bringing out some of the worst,” he said. “People feel empowered to take out their frustrations on individuals who are purely trying to help.”

“These are senseless acts of violence and discrimination that must be resisted.”

Ryan insisted that finding a way to cure COVID-19 was a chance for humanity to take a major leap for conquering the virus by finding a vaccine and also make it globally accessible.

“It’s a massive opportunity for the world,” Ryan said.