CAIRO/GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that Middle East states needed urgently to offer more information about coronavirus cases to help bolster the fight against the disease across the region.
Ahmed al Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said the regional approach to fighting the coronavirus had so far been “uneven” and that much more should be done.
Improved access to information would allow the WHO to track its spread closely and quickly apply proven public health measures, Mandhari told reporters in a video-conference briefing.
“Unfortunately, even today, as the situation is becoming critical, information on cases is insufficiently communicated by countries to WHO,” Mandhari said, referring to “under-reporting on the part of some countries with regard to positive cases”.
The WHO had seen efforts to strengthen surveillance, scale up testing and support families who are isolating relatives or in quarantine, he added, but some states were not fully engaged.
Two-thirds of countries in the region suffer from crises that have impacted health systems. Millions of refugees and displaced people living in camps could be especially vulnerable.
UN agencies have released guidance about recommended action in such camps, said Rick Brennan, emergency director for the region.
At camps in northwest Syria, measures were being taken to improve surveillance systems, set up testing and establish isolation facilities for the sick, as well as accelerating outreach to community about the risks, he said.
Asked about prisons, Brennan stopped short of advising the mass release of prisoners, but said authorities should implement measures such as spacing out beds and reinforce hygiene measures. — Reuters
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