No need for full lockdown in India, WHO said – The current measures are enough to stop corona, just ban according to the risk

Despite the increasing cases of the third wave of corona virus in India, there is no need to impose a complete lockdown at the moment. This is what the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. WHO’s representative in India, Rodrico H. Ofrin, says that in a country like India, steps like imposing full lockdown and banning travel to prevent the spread of corona can harm. He suggested that to fight the epidemic, a strategy should be made to impose restrictions according to the risk.

Action plan to be decided by four questions
Offrin emphasized that it is necessary to save both lives and jobs. He said that four questions need to be answered to decide public health action in India and around the world. These are the four questions-

▪️How contagious is the variant?
▪️How serious is it?
▪️How much protection are giving vaccine and past corona infection?
▪️How do ordinary people perceive danger and follow measures to prevent it?

Benefits of measures like full lockdown are less, more disadvantages
Ofrin said that the WHO does not suggest a complete travel ban or stop movement of people. Such bans do more harm than good. In a country like India where there is so much diversity in the distribution of population, it seems prudent to follow a risk-based approach to fight the pandemic.

Considering the current situation, the capabilities of the health sector and the socio-economic scenario, the government should prepare measures to stop the epidemic. If all the rules are followed then there will be no need to impose lockdown.

Effective measures like applying masks and increasing vaccine coverage
Offrin said that in the current situation, the existing tools and measures are proving effective. Increasing vaccination coverage, using masks, maintaining hand hygiene and physical distancing, ventilating indoor spaces and avoiding crowds help break the chain of infection. If all these are being followed then lockdown is not necessary.