The World Health Organization on Monday said the new strain of the coronavirus, prevalent in the United Kingdom, was not out of control ye...
The World Health Organization on Monday said the new strain of the coronavirus, prevalent in the United Kingdom, was not out of control yet, and could be controlled using existing measures, reported AFP.
Around 30 countries, including India, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Italy, Argentina and Chile, banned flights to the UK amid concerns that the new coronavirus strain seems to spread more easily. However, experts say it is unclear if that is the case or whether they pose any concern for vaccines or lead to more severe infections.
“We have had a much higher [contamination rate] at different points in this pandemic and we’ve got it under control,” WHO’s Emergencies Programme Director Michael Ryan said during a media briefing on Monday. “So this situation is not in that sense out of control. But it cannot be left to its own devices.”
Ryan said the emergence of a new strain of the coronavirus meant that “we have to work harder”. “Even if the virus has become a little bit more efficient in spreading, the virus can be stopped,” he added.
Media briefing on #COVID19 with @DrTedros https://t.co/v4Nk0RLAJ9
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) December 21, 2020
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