DON’T assume your community won’t be affected. Prepare as if it will be.
Don’t assume you won’t be infected. Prepare as if you will be.
But there is hope. There are many things all countries can do.
Physical distancing measures – like cancelling sporting events, concerts and other large gatherings – can help to slow transmission of the virus. They can reduce the burden on the health system. And they can help to make epidemics manageable, allowing targeted and focused measures.
But to suppress and control epidemics, countries must isolate, test, treat and trace.
If they don’t, transmission chains can continue at a low level, then resurge once physical distancing measures are lifted.
The World Health Organization continues to recommend that isolating, testing and treating every suspected case, and tracing every contact, must be the backbone of the response in every country. This is the best hope of preventing widespread community transmission. – Tedros Adhanom, Secretary-General, World Health Organization, media briefing on COVID-19, March 18, 2020
