Middle East states have ‘uneven’ approaches to coronavirus: WHO

Middle East states have ‘uneven’ approaches to coronavirus: WHO
March 18, 2020, 9:54 am

A medical staffer works with test systems for the diagnosis of coronavirus in Krasnodar, Russia on Feb. 4, 2020. (File photo AP)

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that Middle East states need to offer more information about coronavirus cases to help bolster the fight against the disease across the region. Middle East

Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said the regional approach to fighting the coronavirus had so far been “uneven” and that much more should

done.

Improved access to information would allow the WHO to track its spread closely and quickly apply proven public health measures, Mandhari told reporters in a video-conference briefing.

“Unfortunately, even today, as the situation is becoming critical, information on cases is insufficiently communicated by countries to WHO,” Mandhari said.

The WHO had seen efforts to strengthen surveillance, scale up testing and support families who are isolating relatives or in quarantine, he added. Middle East

“But much more needs to be done. In most countries we still have time to more rapidly accelerate our efforts.”

Across much of the region outside Iran - which is one of the worst affected countries worldwide - the number of confirmed cases has been relatively low compared to east Asia and Europe, but WHO officials fear the real figures could be considerably higher than reported due partly to a lack of testing. levant

source: Reuters levant

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