Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned to worry about the reaction to Omicron.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday voiced concern that some countries are adopting overarching measures against the Omicron coronavirus variant that may be unnecessary and punish African countries unjustly.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “I understand well the concern of all countries in protecting their citizens against a variant that we do not fully understand.
But I am equally concerned that some Member States are introducing blunt, inclusive, evidence-based or effective measures of their own, and this will only exacerbate the situation. Inequality.”
First reported in southern Africa a week ago, this variant has caused global alarm, leading to travel bans and highlighting the disparity between the massive vaccination push in countries. wealth and vaccination is sparse in developing countries.
In remarks about the closed-door meeting posted on his website, the head of WHO Ethiopia urged 194 member states to adhere to “reasonable, proportionate” measures.
Tedros said there are still more questions than answers about the severity of Omicron and the effectiveness of the vaccine.
No Omicron-related deaths have been reported, although WHO says it poses a high risk of infection.
“Once again, I thank Botswana and South Africa for the rapid discovery, sequencing and reporting of this variant,” added Tedros. “I am deeply concerned that those countries are now being punished by others for doing the right thing.”
‘REFLEX’
Amid the WHO’s three-day meeting with health ministers, Namibia’s delegation on Tuesday expressed frustration with countries imposing travel bans in southern Africa.
“This travel ban is a tough response based on political grounds, not science or guidance from the WHO Constitution,” it said. “We therefore ask why are other countries (that have detected) this variant in people with no travel history to southern Africa exempt from this travel ban?”
Tanzania called for the immediate lifting of travel restrictions, which are hurting tourism in the region, while Canada expressed gratitude for the region’s transparency.
Leslie Norton, UN ambassador to Geneva, said: “The international collaboration was transparent, demonstrated by South African leadership and South African scientists, who quickly and openly shared Sharing information about this new variant is needed now more than ever.”
“Through your actions, you have purchased world time.”
