The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that young people are susceptible to the coronavirus which can also can sicken or kill them and therefore they should avoid mingling together and prevent the spread of the virus to older people or others who are more vulnerable to contract the disease.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that each day brings a "new and tragic milestone," referring to the number of people infected with the disease across the world crosses 210,000 and a death toll of more than 9,000.
"Although older people are hardest hit, younger people are not spared. Data from many countries clearly show that people under 50 make up a significant proportion of patients requiring hospitalization," Tedros told a virtual press conference.
"Today I have a message for young people: You are not invincible, this virus could put you in hospital for weeks or even kill you. Even if you don't get sick the choices you make about where you go could be the difference between life and death for someone else," he said.
Tedros however provided some encouraging news and announced that on Thursday, no new cases were reported from the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, for the first time. He said that this now was now "providing hope for the rest of the world that even the most severe situation can be turned around."
He said that Chinese producers have agreed to supply the Who with protective gear for health workers and diagnostic kits for tests to tackle the shortage of both the things. He added that the WHO is finalizing arrangement and coordinating shipments to stock the materials at the organization’s Dubai warehouse from where the supplies will be sent to the areas where they are needed most.
According to Dr. Mike Ryan, the WHO's top emergency expert, since many of the regular flights have been cancelled because of the virus pandemic, there is need for "air bridges" to send supplies faster to the countries where its health workers need the supplies the most.
He said that so far 1.5 million lab tests have been distributed worldwide by the WHO and there is need for about 80 times more of such supplies to address the pandemic.
Referring to the possible celebrations for the Persian New Year in Iran even as it fights the coronavirus pandemic which has so far infected more than 20,000 people and killed more than 1,400 of them, Ryan said that people and countries should avoid such celebrations and prevent mass gatherings.
He said that mass gatherings "cannot only amplify the disease but they can disseminate the disease very far away from the center. So they can be very, very, very, very dangerous in terms of epidemic management."
Officials of the WHO said that the organization is now recommending people to maintain "physical distance" in place of social distancing as one of the most effective means of fighting Covid-19 – the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
"We are changing to say 'physical distance' and that's on purpose because we want people to remain connected," said Dr. Maria Kerkhove, a WHO epidemiologist.
"So find ways to do that, find ways through the internet and through different social media to remain connected because your mental health going through this (pandemic) is just as important as your physical health," she said.
(Source:www.livemint.com)
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that each day brings a "new and tragic milestone," referring to the number of people infected with the disease across the world crosses 210,000 and a death toll of more than 9,000.
"Although older people are hardest hit, younger people are not spared. Data from many countries clearly show that people under 50 make up a significant proportion of patients requiring hospitalization," Tedros told a virtual press conference.
"Today I have a message for young people: You are not invincible, this virus could put you in hospital for weeks or even kill you. Even if you don't get sick the choices you make about where you go could be the difference between life and death for someone else," he said.
Tedros however provided some encouraging news and announced that on Thursday, no new cases were reported from the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, for the first time. He said that this now was now "providing hope for the rest of the world that even the most severe situation can be turned around."
He said that Chinese producers have agreed to supply the Who with protective gear for health workers and diagnostic kits for tests to tackle the shortage of both the things. He added that the WHO is finalizing arrangement and coordinating shipments to stock the materials at the organization’s Dubai warehouse from where the supplies will be sent to the areas where they are needed most.
According to Dr. Mike Ryan, the WHO's top emergency expert, since many of the regular flights have been cancelled because of the virus pandemic, there is need for "air bridges" to send supplies faster to the countries where its health workers need the supplies the most.
He said that so far 1.5 million lab tests have been distributed worldwide by the WHO and there is need for about 80 times more of such supplies to address the pandemic.
Referring to the possible celebrations for the Persian New Year in Iran even as it fights the coronavirus pandemic which has so far infected more than 20,000 people and killed more than 1,400 of them, Ryan said that people and countries should avoid such celebrations and prevent mass gatherings.
He said that mass gatherings "cannot only amplify the disease but they can disseminate the disease very far away from the center. So they can be very, very, very, very dangerous in terms of epidemic management."
Officials of the WHO said that the organization is now recommending people to maintain "physical distance" in place of social distancing as one of the most effective means of fighting Covid-19 – the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
"We are changing to say 'physical distance' and that's on purpose because we want people to remain connected," said Dr. Maria Kerkhove, a WHO epidemiologist.
"So find ways to do that, find ways through the internet and through different social media to remain connected because your mental health going through this (pandemic) is just as important as your physical health," she said.
(Source:www.livemint.com)