The World Health Organization (WHO) was quick to comment on a controversial statement by a prominent Italian doctor, saying that the new Corona virus "no longer exists" in Italy, which was the epicenter of the virus's spread on the European continent.
"We must be exceptionally careful not to give the impression that the virus has suddenly decided, on its own, to become less disease-causing. The situation is not at all," said Michael Ryan, director of the WHO's Emergency Intervention Program.
Ryan added, during a virtual press conference, yesterday, Monday, that the new Corona virus "is still a deadly virus", stressing that "thousands of people are still dying every day."
His response came in response to the statement of Alberto Zangrelo, head of the San Rafael Hospital in Milan, the capital of the northern Lombardy region that was most affected by the epidemic, who said: "In fact, the virus is no longer present in Italy by clinical standards."
"The smears examined during the past ten days showed a very small viral load in terms of quantity compared to those conducted a month or two ago," Zangrelo said in an interview with "Ray" television on Sunday. "Someone must bear the responsibility for terrifying the country," he added.
In response to this Italian doctor's note, the WHO official said, "We do not know if this is the case for Covid-19, but it is possible that it is not the virus itself that has become less virulent, but we as a society have succeeded in reducing the number of people exposed to the virus. Its severity and frequency of exposure.
"On the surface, the virus appears weaker but it may be weaker because we are better at knowing and managing it, not because it is weakening. I hope the virus will weaken, this is what we all hope for, but we cannot bet on that at this point," Ryan added.
The comments of the Italian doctor booed other experts, which followed a warning from the Italian government to be careful.
"Pending the obtaining of scientific evidence to support the hypothesis that the virus has disappeared, I would like to invite those who say they are sure of the matter not to create a state of confusion among the Italians," Health Undersecretary Sandra Zampa said in a statement.
The head of the National Health Council, Franco Locatelli, said that Zangrelo's comments made him confused. "It is sufficient to look at the number of new positive cases confirmed each day to see the continued spread of the Corona virus in Italy," he said.
Giuseppe Ippoleto, director of the prestigious Spallatsani Institute of Infectious Diseases in Rome, said that there is no scientific evidence that the virus has mutated or that its effectiveness has changed.