The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, on Wednesday, April 24, cautioned countries against complacency in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Ghebreyesus, was speaking during his daily news briefing in Geneva, where he stressed that complacency was among the major challenges that countries are facing now. “There is no question that stay-at-home orders and other physical distancing measures have successfully suppressed transmission in many countries,” he said. “But the virus remains extremely dangerous, and the evidence is that most of the world’s population remains susceptible, that means the epidemic can easily reignite.” One of the greatest dangers we face now, he added, is complacency. However, he also recognised the hardships faced by people confined to their homes for weeks through the stay at home orders imposed by different governments to contain the spread of the pandemic. “But the world will not and cannot go back to the way things were. There must be a new norm. A world that is healthier, safer and better prepared.” Additionally, Ghebreyesus added, the same public health measures we have been advocating since the beginning of the pandemic must remain the backbone of the response in all countries. He emphasised that authorities must find every case, isolate every case, test every case, care for every case, trace and quarantine every contact, and educate, engage and empower your people, “The fight cannot be effective without empowering our people and without the full participation of all,” Ghebreyesus said. Ghebreyesus counsel came as Rwanda tightened the lockdown measures. On April 20, Police arrested 28 people for selling alcohol in their homes amid the lockdown, which was imposed on March 21 to stop the spread of the virus. The lockdown has been extended twice and is expected to go up to April 30. So far, Rwanda has recorded 153 coronavirus cases, 84 of the patients have recovered. No death has been reported yet. Globally, the pandemic has claimed 183,820 lives out of 2,639,240 cases recorded in 185 countries.
