COVID-19 won't go away by itself: WHO

March 30, 2020 22:41

Coronavirus will not go away by itself and rather it needs to be pushed down using public health care measures, said Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization health emergencies program.

"Everyone has talked about flatting the curve, Ryan said, but "the question is how do you go down? And going down, isn't just about a lockdown and let go. To get down from the numbers, not just stabilise, requires a re-doubling of public health efforts, to push down. It won't go down by itself, it will be pushed down."

"We have to now push the virus down and that will not happen by itself," Ryan said.

Speaking on Monday, Ryan said lockdowns are essential, because it means fewer people will be exposed to the virus, "so there are less people at risk from any individual case. If you get those cases out of the community quickly, they'll expose even less people, and that's how you get ahead of an epidemic."

Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, World Health Organization infectious disease epidemiologist, added we need to focus on the now, "we need to focus on what must be done now to get us out of this."

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