WHO chief says countries must take aggressive measures to combat COVID-19 pandemic

On March 25, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that lockdowns initiated by many countries will not be enough to tackle the spread of the deadly coronavirus. According to reports, he asked countries to actively combat the virus in any way they can. The deadly coronavirus has already infected 471,576 people globally and killed more than 21,000 people.

'2nd window of opportunity'

The WHO Director during his daily briefing said that all lockdowns were doing war buying time for nations and reducing the pressure on the countries health care systems. According to reports, Ghebreyesus claims that the lockdowns are a ‘2nd window of opportunity’, which the countries can use to attack the virus.

According to the WHO chief, countries must take aggressive measures to find, isolate, test, treat and trace is not only the best and fastest way out of extreme social and economic restrictions, but they're also the best way to prevent them.

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Earlier on March 23, the WHO chief also said that the virus is 'accelerating'. However, Tedros also asserted that it is still possible to "change the trajectory" of the outbreak. Putting forth preventive measures, he urged people to stay at home and practice other physical distancing measures which will enable slowing down the spread of the virus and buying time. But, he added that they are defensive measures that will not help to win the fight against COVID-19. According to him, there is a need to attack the virus with aggressive and targeted tactics. He further reiterated a call for testing every suspected case, isolating and caring for every confirmed case and tracing and quarantining every close contact. 

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