WHO Issues 6 Criteria for Countries Considering Easing Lockdowns

Rabat – World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced yesterday six criteria that countries should meet before beginning to lift their lockdowns.

As coronavirus cases surpassed four million worldwide, Ghebreyesus indicated that some countries started easing their lockdown restrictions and should carefully evaluate such moves, during a COVID-19 media briefing.

“Some countries are considering when they can lift these restrictions; others are considering whether and when to introduce them,” said Ghebreyesus.

Some hard-hit European countries are considering lifting measures. France, after 58 days of lockdown, is planning to resume normal life by a gradual reopening. 

French nationals will not need to present a permit to travel within 100 kilometers of their residences and public transport will step up a gear, according to Euronews.

The WHO chief recommended these willing countries answer three questions:

1. Is transmission under control?
2. Is the health system able to identify and treat all cases and trace every contact?
3. Are outbreaks minimized in “special settings” such as health facilities and nursing homes?

The three reference questions are part of a strategy based on the latest scientific evidence on the virus, and add to three other criteria that WHO prescribes for countries considering lifting lockdowns:

1. Countries should have preventive measures in place in workplaces, schools, and public spaces where it is essential for people to go.
2. Countries should be able to manage the risks of importation.
3. Communities should be fully educated, engaged, and empowered to adjust to the “new norm.”

“Each government must assess their situation, while protecting all their citizens, and especially the most vulnerable,” the official stressed.

During a press conference on April 27, Ghebreyesus highlighted Europe’s declining rate of COVID-19 cases, urging all countries to continue enforcing isolation measures and to test every case to ensure that the declining trends continue.

During the same event, Ghebreyesus said that the pandemic is far from over, and expressed his concerns about increasing COVID-19 trends in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and some Asian countries, where cases and deaths are underreported because of low testing capacities.