Holidays on hold as WHO warns against opening up global travel too quickly, advising “careful” management

THE World Health Organisation’s (WHO) top emergencies expert, Mike Ryan, and WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus have warned against opening up global travel too quickly. WHO is concerned about the increasing numbers of people getting infected with coronavirus (Covid-19) in parts of Africa and central and South America, and has warned that the “virus will be with us for a long time.”

Tedros highlighted “worrying upward trends in early epidemics in parts of Africa and central and South America,” warning that opening up global travel needed to be managed carefully. “Most countries are still in the early stages of their epidemics and some that were affected early in the pandemic are starting to see a resurgence in cases,” he stated in a virtual press briefing on Wednesday. “Make no mistake, we have a long way to go. This virus will be with us for a long time,” he added, despite acknowledging the progress made in Western Europe.

Ryan also warned against opening up global travel too quickly, pointing out that it would require “careful risk management.” Additionally, the United Nations is warning that global hunger could also double as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, putting 265 million people at risk.

More than 2.5 million people around the world have been diagnosed with the coronavirus since the pandemic started. At least 178,000 have died from the disease, with the US accounting for around a quarter of all fatalities to date, according to Johns Hopkins University.