COVID-19 may burn out naturally: WHO

LONDON: The World Health Organization (WHO) has claimed that the coronavirus could burn out naturally before any vaccine is developed.

WHO former Chief, Professor Karol Sikora said, “We are seeing a roughly similar pattern everywhere. I suspect we have more immunity than estimated.”

“We need to keep slowing the virus, but it could be petering out by itself. It is my opinion that this is a feasible scenario.”

His hopeful comments come days after a new study in the International Journal of Clinical Practice, using local authority ‘R’ transmission rate data, estimated some 19 million people are likely to have already contracted the virus in the United Kingdom.

Epidemiologists’ efforts to assume and monitor the true spread of the virus have been hindered by the UK government’s decision to abandon widespread testing and contact-tracing in mid-March.

Read more: COVID-19: WHO warns spraying disinfectants can be ‘harmful’

The WHO has earlier warned against spraying disinfectant on the streets, as practiced in some countries, does not eliminate the new COVID-19 and it can be dangerous for human health.

In a document on cleaning and disinfecting surfaces as part of the response to the COVID-19, the WHO says spraying can be ineffective. The document also stresses that spraying individuals with disinfectants are ‘not suggested under any circumstances.