WHO says new COVID-19 strain not out of control

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday said it was not true that the new strain of COVID-19 was beyond the control of existing measures.

The new strain, discovered in Britain, has a higher transmission rate. The WHO, however, insists it is not yet out of control and can be contained.

The WHO’s Chief of Emergencies, Micheal Ryan stated this at a press briefing on Monday, saying:
“We have had a much higher (contamination rate) at different points in this pandemic and we’ve got it under control.”

“So this situation is not in that sense out of control. But it cannot be left to its own devices.”

The British Health Secretary, Matt Hancock had earlier claimed the new variant was “out of control”, with British officials saying it was 70 percent more transmissible than the main strain.

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Continuing, Ryan said: “The measures we currently have in place are the correct measures.

“We need to do what we have been doing, we may just have to do it with a little more intensity and for a little longer to make sure we can bring this virus under control.

“In some senses, it means we have to work harder. “Even if the virus has become a little bit more efficient in spreading, the virus can be stopped.”

About 30 countries have shut their borders to people travelling from Britain or South Africa, where another variant has emerged, to stop any further spread.

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