This is a central question for deconfinement. Evidence is starting to emerge on a possible aerial transmission of Covid-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledged on Tuesday, warning that the "epidemic is accelerating" worldwide. The day before, a group of international scientists had raised the alarm on this mode of contagion by droplets which could remain suspended in the air, which would make closed places poorly ventilated particularly dangerous.
Media briefing on # COVID19 with @DrTedros https://t.co/VpsVJPDu6s
- World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) July 7, 2020"We recognize that evidence is emerging in this area and therefore we must be open to this possibility, and understand its implications," said Benedetta Allegranzi, a WHO official, at a virtual press conference. “The possibility of transmission by air in particularly crowded public places cannot be excluded. The evidence must, however, be gathered and interpreted, "the official continued, recommending" effective ventilation in enclosed spaces, physical distancing ". "When this is not possible, we recommend wearing a mask," she added.
An analysis to come in the coming days
More than 200 international scientists on Monday urged the WHO and the international medical community to "recognize the potential for aerial transmission of Covid-19," in an article published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, Oxford .
The WHO, already criticized for having delayed recommending the masks, has been accused of refusing to see the accumulation of evidence of airborne spread of the virus. "We are trying to consolidate the knowledge that is emerging around the transmission (of the virus)," added another official, Maria Van Kerkhove, adding that the WHO would publish an information sheet on this subject "in the coming days".
Acceleration of the epidemic
"The epidemic is accelerating and we have not reached the peak," for its part warned the Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, during the press conference. "While the number of deaths appears to have stabilized globally, in reality, some countries have made significant progress in reducing the number of deaths, while in other countries, deaths are still increasing," a he stressed, recalling that 11.4 million cases had been recorded worldwide, and that the virus had killed more than 535,000 people in six months.
"We are all vulnerable," he said, saying that the virus had "taken humanity hostage." "We have not seen anything like it since 1918," he said, referring to the Spanish flu pandemic that claimed tens of millions of lives worldwide. "National unity and global solidarity are crucial and without them we will not be able to beat the virus," he said.
While Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who for a long time downplayed the epidemic, tested positive on Tuesday for the new coronavirus, Dr Tedros recalled that "no country is immune, no country is immune, and no one can be safe. ” "Prince or poor, we are all equally vulnerable" to the virus, added WHO emergency manager Michael Ryan, while wishing a "rapid recovery" to the Brazilian president.
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