Daily US Times: The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has gone into self-quarantine after a person he had been in contact with tested positive for coronavirus.
With Covid-19 again spreading rapidly across Europe, the WHO chief made the announcement by Twitter late on Sunday night, but stressed he had no symptoms.
He said in Twitter: “I have been identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID19.”
He said he is well and without symptoms but ”will self-quarantine over the coming days, in line with @WHO protocols, and work from home.”
Tedros has been at the forefront of the WHO’s efforts to battle the Covid-19 pandemic, which has claimed 1.2 million lives across the world and infected more than 46 million people so far since emerging in China late last year, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
The head of the United Nation’s health agency stressed on Twitter that “it is critically important that we all comply with health guidance”.
“This is how we will break chains of COVID19 transmission, suppress the virus, and protect health systems,” Mr Tedros added.
Slovakian officials said 2.58 million people – nearly half of the country’s population – took Covid-19 swabs on Saturday as part of a two-day drive to contain the spread of Covid-19 infections without resorting to a lockdown.
The experiment is being closely watched by other countries. People in Slovakia were asked to volunteer for the tests but the government said it would impose a lockdown to the individuals who did not participate, including a ban on going to work.
The worsening situation in the continent is bringing the prospect of renewed lockdowns and the weekend was marked by street protests against further restrictions on daily life.
Ihe prime minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain called for an end to “the violent and irrational behaviour” of a minority of people after demonstrations in cities including Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Santander, Málaga, Vitoria and Burgos against the government’s decision to declare a six-month state of emergency in response to the pandemic.
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