WHO: Corona Virus May Never Go Away

Photo illustration (Jeremy Stenuit / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The World Health Organization (WHO) said that the new corona virus that causes COVID-19 could be endemic to HIV. We hate breaking this news. However, the latest statements highlight the fear that COVID-19 may never leave our lives.

This statement was made by WHO considering that nothing can be done to predict how long the virus will spread, let alone deal with it. Therefore, WHO calls for massive efforts to overcome this condition.

"It's important to discuss: this virus may become another endemic virus in our community. And this virus may never go away," WHO emergencies expert Mike Ryan said in an online briefing. Thursday May 14th.

"I think it's important for us to be realistic. And I don't think anyone can predict when this disease will go away. I think there is no promise in this and no date. This disease could be a problem for a long time, or maybe not," he added.

However, he said, the world had control over how to deal with the disease. Even so, any means will require "great effort", even if a vaccine is found. This condition was described by Mike Ryan as a massive exploration.

More than a hundred potential vaccines are being developed, including some in clinical trials. However, experts have underlined the difficulty of finding a vaccine that is effective against the new coronavirus.

Ryan also said very significant control of the virus was needed to lower the risk, which he said remained high at the national, regional and global levels. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus added that handling the virus is everyone's business.

Medical staff treating COVID-19 patients (Twitter / WHO)

Economic pressure

In the midst of the COVID-19 emergency, governments around the world are struggling with the question of how to reopen their economic activities in a situation where the virus is not fully under control. Nearly 4.3 million people worldwide have contracted COVID-19 and more than 291,000 have died.

The European Union is pushing for a gradual reopening of borders in the bloc that had been closed due to the pandemic. The European Union says it is not too late to resume the tourist season for the summer while keeping people in good health.

However, public health experts say caution is needed to avoid new outbreaks. Mike Ryan said opening land borders was riskier than loosening air travel permits because it was a "different challenge".

"We need to get into the mindset that it will take time to get out of this pandemic," said WHO epidemiologist Maria van Kerkhove.