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WHO’s Tedros warns against over-reaction to Omicron -Breaking

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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO (c) Reuters. Tedros Adhanom, chief of World Health Organization, attends an event to inaugurate a multi-year partnership with Qatar for making the FIFA Football World Cup 2022 safe and healthy at Geneva’s WHO Headquarters.

By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA (Reuters), – On Tuesday, the head of WHO voiced concern that certain countries had introduced blanket measures to combat the Omicron coronavirus variant. This could have been detrimental for African countries and may be unnecessary.

Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus said, “I understand that all countries are concerned about protecting their citizens against an ailment we do not yet fully understand.”

“But, I’m equally worried that many Member States have introduced blunt, broad measures that aren’t evidence-based and ineffective on their own. This will only increase inequalities.”

This variant, first discovered in South Africa, was reported a week back. The alarm has led to bans on travel and raised concerns about the gap between the large vaccination efforts in wealthy countries and the sparse immunization in developing nations.

The WHO’s Ethiopian Head urged its 194 members to adhere to “rational and proportional” policies in his remarks at a closed-door session posted to their website.

Tedros indicated that Tedros had more questions than answers regarding Omicron’s severity as well the effectiveness of vaccinations.

Omicron-related deaths have not been reported yet, but the WHO stated that it presents a high risk for infection surges.

Tedros added, “Once more, I want to thank Botswana, South Africa, and South Africa for quickly detecting, sequencing, and reporting this variant.” “It’s deeply troubling to me that other countries penalize those countries for doing the right things.”

‘KNEE-JERK REACTION’

On Tuesday, Namibia’s delegation voiced dismay at southern African states that have imposed travel bans during the WHO health ministers meeting.

The WHO Constitution stated, “This travel ban is an impulsive reaction grounded in politics, and not science or guidance.” It is therefore questionable why other countries that have (detected), the variant in persons with no travel history from southern Africa were exempted by this travel ban.

Tanzania called for an immediate lift of travel restrictions, which hurt tourism in the region. Canada, however, expressed appreciation for the regional transparency.

Leslie Norton (Canada’s U.N. Ambassador in Geneva) said that transparent international collaboration is essential.

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