Put in place proper health measures before gradual withdrawal of lockdown: WHO

World Health Organization (WHO) has said any country needs to make sure that good and appropriate health measures are already in place demonstrating its ability to tackle the situation confidently before it slowly starts withdrawing its lockdown.

"When we start slowly opening the lockdown, we need to make sure that this doesn't resurge again. We have to ensure that," WHO Representative to Bangladesh Dr Bardan Jung Rana told UNB in an interview.

He referred to country's ability to detect, isolate, test and treat people which should be in place so that anything, if suddenly comes in, can fully be responded.

"When we're in a more comfortable area (of health system) and feel more secure by what our abilities are then a country can slowly start thinking (withdrawal of lockdown)," Dr Bardan said adding that there are many other factors that countries are suffering from at this time of crisis.

The WHO Representative said it has been very helpful for the countries that have been practising social distancing.

He said Bangladesh is a densely populated country that gives a wonderful environment for the coronavirus to transmit easily.

"This is the reason we're very pleased that the government has brought in this social distancing directive," Dr Bardan said mentioning that this helps the government reduce the pressure in the health system giving time to strengthen it to be able to respond to this outbreak.

Though it helps absolutely, the WHO Representative said, social distancing or physical distancing is not the only way to deal with the situation.

He said there are other areas -- early detection, isolation, testing and treatment -- that need to be strengthened and have the focus on.

"These are the areas we really need to strengthen to be able to fight this virus and be able to win this war," said the WHO Representative.

He said this is a global pandemic and there are other challenges as well. "There's a massive shortage of equipment and supplies globally. For that reason, we need to get ourselves prepared for all these things."

All the UN agencies and development partners -- right from the very beginning -- have been supporting the government of Bangladesh to ensure that supplies and requirements are coming in, said the WHO official.

"We'll continue to doing so until we win this war," Dr Bardan said.

Social Distancing in Rohingya Camps

The WHO Representative said this social distancing directive has gone throughout nationally, including in Cox's Bazar, and it has been practising in the Rohingya camps as well.

He said social distancing has been a good measure that has helped keep the Rohingya camps free from coronavirus infected people so far.

Highlighting other measures taken by the government with the support of other agencies to reduce the footprint of the virus in the camps, the WHO Representative said there has been restrictions, too in the camps.

He said only the essential activities are going on in the Rohingya camps by shutting down or slowing down all non-essential activities to halt the transmission of the virus there.

"There's already quarantine space made and people, including health workers, are being trained," Dr Bardan said adding that Rohingya people are being kept informed to help them know how to protect themselves following preventive measures.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has said there has been "incredible progress" in setting up Ukhiya Isolation and Treatment Centre.

This centre is one of several isolation and treatment centres being prepared by the humanitarian community and the government of Bangladesh, which will be used for both Rohingya people and local Bangladeshi communities.

All efforts are underway to ensure a response capacity in the case of an outbreak of the coronavirus in Cox's Bazar, the UNHCR said.

COVID-19 Cases in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has so far recorded the death of 131 people due to COVID-19 (until April 24) while the number of infected cases in the country stood 4,689 during the same period, according to Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Over 300 Bangladesh nationals died in a number of countries, including in the United States and the United Kingdom, which is almost three times higher than the figure shows in Bangladesh.

There are lots of research and analysis about the coronavirus to understand how the world will look like after the coronavirus disappears with no crystal ball in hand at this moment.

The global coronavirus crisis will not end any time soon, with many countries still in the early stages of the fight, health experts have warned.

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has cautioned that the struggle is far from over. Make no mistake: we've a long way to go. This virus will be with us for a long time," he said.