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Just like HIV, coronavirus may never go away: WHO expert warns

WION Web Team
GenevaUpdated: May 14, 2020, 08:04 AM IST
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Photograph:(Reuters)

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'We have a new virus entering the human population for the first time and therefore it is very hard to predict when we will prevail over it,' said Michael Ryan, the WHO's emergencies director.

 

As various countries are ready to resume their daily lives and save the crippling economy, World Health Organization has said that the coronavirus is here to stay.

"This virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities and this virus may never go away," Michael Ryan, the WHO's emergencies director, told a virtual press conference in Geneva.

"HIV has not gone away -- but we have come to terms with the virus," he added.

Also read: WHO putting nations at risk by excluding Taiwan from knowledge sharing: US report

The virus, which has infected more than 4.2 million people globally, is something that the humans might have to learn to live with. Due to the spread of coronavirus, a lot of countries were out under lockdown. However, as the economies suffered and took a great fall, some countries are now hoping to lift the lockdown and save their economy.

However, WHO says there is no guarantee whether lifting the lockdown will start a fresh wave of coronavirus or not. As the risks are high, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus still wants countries to be on a high alert against the virus.

Ryan also expressed concern over the growing violent attacks on the healthcare workers. "COVID-19 is bringing out the best in us, but it's also bringing out some of the worst. People feel empowered to take out their frustrations on individuals who are purely trying to help. These are senseless acts of violence and discrimination that must be resisted," he said