The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) raised concern on Tuesday that some countries were introducing mask measures against the Omicron coronavirus variant that may not be necessary and penalised African nations unfairly.
“I well understand the concern of all countries to cover their citizens against a variant that we do not yet completely understand,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“But I’m inversely concerned that several Member States are introducing blunt, mask measures that aren’t substantiation- grounded or effective on their own, and which will only worsen injuries.”
First reported in southern Africa a week ago, the variant has brought global alarm, led to travel bans, and stressed the difference between massive vaccination pushes in rich nations and meager inoculation in the developing world.
In reflections to a unrestricted- door meeting posted on its website, the WHO’s Ethiopian head prompted the 194 member countries to stick to” rational, commensurable” measures.
There were still further questions than answers, Tedros said, about Omicron’s inflexibility and the effectiveness of vaccines.
No Omicron- linked deaths have yet been reported though the WHO has said it poses a high threat of infection surges.
” Formerly again, I thank Botswana and South Africa for detecting, sequencing and reporting this variant so fleetly,” added Tedros.”It’s deeply concerning to me that those countries are now being punished by others for doing the right thing.”
‘ KNEE- Haul Response’
Mid-way through a three- day WHO meeting of health ministers, Namibia’s delegation on Tuesday expressed disappointment towards those countries assessing trip bans on southern Africa.
“This trip ban is a knee- haul response predicated in politics, not in wisdom or guidance from the WHO Constitution,”it said.”We thus ask why is it that other countries that (detected) the variant in persons who have no trip history to southern Africa are exempted from this trip ban?”
Tanzania called for an immediate lifting of the trip checks, which are hurting tourism in the region, while Canada raised gratefulness for indigenous translucency.
” Transparent transnational collaboration, as demonstrated by the leadership of South Africa and the South African scientists who fleetly and openly participated information on this new variant, is what’s demanded now further than ever,” said Leslie Norton, Canada’sU.N. minister in Geneva.
“Through your conduct you bought the world time.”
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