WHO official urges science-based, non-discriminatory COVID entry restrictions

A senior official of the World Well being Group (WHO) has
urged international locations to take science-based precautionary COVID-19 entry
restrictions which might be proportionate and non-discriminatory,
Development studies
citing Xinhua.

Hans Kluge, WHO’s regional director for Europe, made the attraction
at a press convention right here on Tuesday.

“For these international locations in our area introducing precautionary
journey measures right now, we’re calling for such to be rooted
in science, to be proportionate and non-discriminatory,” Kluge
mentioned.

“Scientifically, there isn’t a speedy risk for the European
area at this time limit based mostly on the data we have now from
China, as a result of the (virus) variants which might be circulating in China
are additionally circulating in Europe,” Kluge instructed Xinhua.

“We share the present view of the European Centre for Illness
Management (ECDC) that the continuing surge in China is just not anticipated
to considerably impression the COVID-19 epidemiological state of affairs in
the WHO European Area right now,” he mentioned.

Kluge reiterated the significance of scientific surveillance and
criticized sure international locations within the area for having considerably
diminished their surveillance capability for COVID-19 detection.

In response to Kluge, it could be dangerous to disregard different
vital elements of the evolution of the virus, such because the
Omicron XBB.1.5 recombinant variant, which has quickly unfold
all through the US and is at the moment increasing within the
European area.

Kluge known as on international locations to tackle much more accountability,
together with rising vaccine uptake on the whole populations,
offering extra vaccine doses to precedence teams, selling
mask-wearing each indoors and on public transportation, ventilating
crowded and public areas, and offering early and acceptable
therapy to sufferers vulnerable to extreme illnesses.