WHO Warns Asia Pacific to Brace for Long Battle against COVID-19

The World Health Organization’s regional chief urged Asia-Pacific nations Tuesday to dig in for the long haul in the fight against COVID-19 and prepare for “large-scale” infections at the community level.

Dr. Takeshi Kasai, the Manila-based head of the WHO’s Western Pacific region, said the world had changed dramatically since the new coronavirus was detected in China three months ago.

“Let me be clear: the epidemic is far from over in Asia and the Pacific,” Kasai told an online news conference from Manila. “This is going to be a long-term battle.”

Meanwhile, health authorities in the Philippines recorded the largest daily increase in coronavirus deaths and infections on Tuesday as they confirmed 10 more deaths, bringing the nation’s toll to 88, with 2,084 infections.

At least 15 doctors have died due to the pneumonia-like disease, and hundreds of health workers have been isolated and quarantined after being exposed to carriers, officials said.

Kasai said countries should keep responding to the viral outbreak according to their individual situations, but also prepare for the prospect that things could become worse.

There remains no single strategy to beat the disease, he said, adding that intervention programs such as increasing physical distance between people – “social distancing” – or placing entire civilian populations under lockdown could slow the spread of the virus.

“But we need to be clear, that even with all these measures, the risk will not go away as long as the pandemic continues,” he said. “Rather, these measures can buy us valuable time to prepare for large-scale community transmission.”

Governments should protect the most vulnerable first, including the elderly, the health workers at the frontlines as well as those with pre-existing conditions, he said.

“Health workers are the group that’s more exposed to the virus than anyone else, and they are critical to the response,” Kasai said, as he warned countries where cases were beginning to taper off not to be complacent.

Kasai said that for lockdowns to be effective, governments must conduct effective contact tracing and isolate potential carriers.

In the Philippines two weeks ago, President Rodrigo Duterte imposed a lockdown all over Luzon Island to contain COVID-19 infections. Local officials across the country followed and implemented their own community lockdowns.

“I’m very impressed by the Filipino people’s solidarity in trying to cope and support this lockdown in the Philippines,” Duterte said as he emphasized seeing the same trend in other parts of the world. “To make lockdown effective, not just individually … it needs community support.”

Globally, almost 40,000 people have died and more than 800,000 others have been infected, according to the latest data compiled by disease experts at Johns Hopkins University in the United States.

On Monday night, Duterte revealed in a speech that the government had allotted 200 billion pesos (US$3.9 billion) in funds to provide for the needs of the poor affected by the lockdown. But he did not say how the funds would be disbursed.

With the disease already infecting several key officials in Duterte’s inner power circle, the Philippines is in a precarious situation.

Late Tuesday, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año announced that he, too, had tested positive for COVID-19 and had received the test results earlier in the day.

“I make this announcement to call the attention of all persons I had close contact with to go on self-quarantine and observe any symptoms, in accordance with DOH [Department of Health] guidelines,” the secretary said. “To all those concerned, I am doing fine and have no symptoms. I will continue my quarantine and work from home.”