A top World Health Organization (WHO) official on Friday said countries with decreasing Covid-19 numbers should continue to stay vigilant, reported The Economic Times.
“Even as case numbers are coming down, all countries need to remain vigilant. You’ve heard of this before, but we really need to emphasize it again,” Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, said during a virtual briefing on Friday. “Do not let your guard down.”
She said several effective measures to curb the spread of coronavirus are being taken in various countries and the transmission is going down, but it’s not time to relax.
“What we don’t want to see is situations where you are moving from a so-called lockdown state to bring the virus under control to moving to a so-called lockdown state,” Van Kerkhove added.
Over 61 million people have tested positive for the coronavirus globally and 1.4 million have succumbed to death, according to a Reuters tally. The United States is the worst-hit country with the world’s highest number of cases and deaths, while India is second on the list.
The world is currently waiting for an effective coronavirus vaccine as most of the promising candidate vaccines have successfully completed phase 3 clinical trials.
Earlier this week, the WHO issued a fresh set of guidelines on physical activity, as scores of people are confined to their homes owing to covid-19. As per statistics, every one out of four adults, and four out of five adolescents, do not get enough physical activity. The health body said that up to 5 million deaths a year could be averted if the global population was more active.
In the new guidelines, the WHO has recommended at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity per week for all adults, including those having chronic conditions or disabilities. The guidelines also recommend 60 minutes of physical activity per day for children and adolescents.
