The World Health Organization’s technical lead on COVID-19 suggests countries don’t need to go back to a total shutdown to get control of the rising virus counts.
Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove says the numbers are rising in parts of Europe, and in areas of Canada and the United States, but the whole country shouldn’t need to close.
Instead, she suggests national leaders can support local measures at the hotspots instead, until the numbers are under control.
Dr. Kerkhove says the way to do that on a national level is to quickly pinpoint where the transmissions are, quarantine those who test positive and all of their contacts, support people in quarantine, and emphasize the measures needed to stay safe through more community engagement.
She adds the concerns right now are the increase in hospitalizations globally, and in ICU rates.
She says in many cities, beds are filling up too quickly and may reach capacity in the coming days and weeks.