LettersAfter the coronavirus crisis: a time for WHO to set house in order

As of April 13, there were over 1.85 million reported coronavirus cases and over 114,000 deaths, affecting 205 countries and territories. The situation was not quite as bad at the end of February, when there were 85,000 people infected and 2,900 deaths, with most of the cases concentrated in China. 

On February 29, in its international air traffic recommendations in relation to the Covid-19 outbreak, the World Health Organisation advised against the application of travel and trade restrictions to countries experiencing Covid-19 outbreaks. In its statement, the WHO declared that, “evidence shows that restricting the movement of people and goods during public health emergencies is ineffective in most situations and may divert resources from other interventions”.

This was the single biggest blunder on the part of WHO and one that led to the rapid spread of the disease across countries like Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and now the United States, resulting in an unprecedented health care crisis.

On March 11, nearly 50 days after the Wuhan lockdown, the WHO declared Covid-19 a pandemic, urging nations to impose emergency measures to curb the spread. What is ironic here is that, by that time, everyone in the world already knew this.

If a clear indication of potential community transmission had come from the WHO a month earlier, the outbreak could have been contained to a large extent.