Several countries that have lifted coronavirus restrictions and reopened businesses, including China, have seen jumps in coronavirus cases, underscoring the “challenges that may lie ahead,” the World Health Organization warned Monday.
“In the Republic of Korea, bars and clubs were shut as a confirmed case led to many contacts being traced,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press conference at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva. “In Wuhan, China, the first cluster of cases since the lockdown lifted was identified. Germany has also reported an increase in cases since the easing of restrictions.”
Tedros urged caution as more countries seek to ease such restrictions and jump start the economy. He added that South Korea, China and Germany have all rolled out surveillance infrastructure such as broad testing and tracing to alert authorities in case the virus does reassert itself.
Before any country begins to lift restrictions, they should have the epidemic under control, ensure that their health systems are able to cope with a potential resurgence and have necessary testing, tracing and isolating infrastructure in place, Tedros said.
“Countries put these stringent measures in place, sometimes called lockdowns, in response to intense transmission,” he said. “Many have used the time to ramp up their ability to test, trace, isolate and care for patients, which is the best way to track the virus, slow the spread, and take pressure off the health systems.”
