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Coronavirus pandemic

Relaxing lockdowns necessitates cautious approach, warns WHO official

Melita Vujnovic said that a second and a third wave of the spread of coronavirus is not ruled out since the immunity of the population is not that strong yet to fully rule out the virus

MOSCOW, April 23./TASS/. Self-isolation measures must be relaxed or lifted with much caution, Melita Vujnovic, World Health Organization Representative to Russia, told Rossiya-24 television on Thursday.

"There are several criteria making it possible to lift self-isolation and ease the measures, and these are first of all the recommended measures which Russia has been abiding by strictly from the very start," she said, listing among them measures to identify the people the infected had been in contact with, a 14-day quarantine for them and engagement of all people among the other measures.

She also emphasized that on Thursday, WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge cautioned against easing off. He noted that several countries in Europe had relaxed coronavirus restrictions. "Yes, this is possible, but it is necessary to watch out for possible cases that may once again trigger an outbreak," Vujnovic stressed.

She said that a second and a third wave of the spread of coronavirus is not ruled out since the immunity of the population is not that strong yet to fully rule out the virus. However, the WHO together with other countries is working on a strategy for getting back to a normal situation. Even if there will be a third and a second wave, the most important thing is to learn how and what to do with it promptly and with caution, she said.

According to the latest statistics, over 2,600,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 184,000 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 723,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.

To date, a total of 62,773 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 4,891 patients having recovered from the virus. Russia’s latest data indicates 555 fatalities nationwide.

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