Chennai: World Health Organisation’s emergencies chief Dr Michael Ryan has said that Covid doesn’t seem to follow the seasonal patterns that some viruses exhibit, making it harder to control.
Unlike other respiratory viruses like influenza that spread mainly in the winter, the coronavirus pandemic is accelerating in the summer. That’s despite earlier predictions from some scientists and politicians it would fade in the heat.
Speaking to the media, he said this virus has demonstrated no seasonal pattern as such. “What it has clearly demonstrated is that if you take the pressure off the virus, the virus bounces back,” he added.
According to Ryan, the UN health agency continues to advise countries even where Covid-19 appears to be under control, such as those in Europe, to maintain measures to slow virus spread.
He called for countries where transmission remains intense, such as Brazil, to adopt measures so that communities have the necessary support they need to implement strategies like social distancing, wearing masks, and self-isolating if they have symptoms.
A few days ago, Sowmya Swaminathan, chief scientist, World Health Organisation, had said, “we live in unusual times due to the pandemic, which has brought to the forefront now more than ever the need to live cohesively with the environment.”
Speaking at an award function in Chennai, she said, “the impact of huge climatic variations will be felt even more strongly in the future if we don’t reassess the choices we make.”
Sowmya had earlier said India’s testing rate was low when compared to some of the countries such as Germany, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan that are successfully trying to curb the coronavirus.
She added that without adequate testing, fighting the virus is like ‘fighting fire blindfolded.’
In an interactive session through video conference, Sowmya Swaminathan said, “India as a whole, the testing rates are much lower compared to some of the countries, who have done well like Germany, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan.”