World Health Organisation said that the new coronavirus strain discovered in the UK is not yet 'out of control'. This statement came after the UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the mutant coronavirus strain is 'out of control' leading to global panic and concern. The organisation said that the new coronavirus strain can be contained using existing measures.
"We have had a much higher (contamination rate) at different points in this pandemic and we've got it under control," WHO's emergencies chief Michael Ryan told a press conference, further adding, "So this situation is not in that sense out of control. But it cannot be left to its own devices."
Ryan stated that the current measures in place are the correct measures. He said that we need to do what we have been doing and that we might just have to do it with a little more intensity and for a little longer to ensure that the virus is under control. "In some senses, it means we have to work harder," Ryan said. "Even if the virus has become a little bit more efficient in spreading, the virus can be stopped."
British officials, as well as PM Boris Johnson had said that the new coronavirus variant is 70 per cent more transmissible than the existing strain.
Meanwhile, concerned by the new coronavirus strain in the UK, roughly 30 countries have shut flights to and from the UK and South Africa. Another variant has emerged in South Africa.
On Monday, the Health Ministry called for an urgent meeting to discuss the fast-paced spread of the mutant coronavirus strain in the UK. However, Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan asked people to not panic during a press briefing and said that the government was alert over the matter.
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