Risk of transmission will potentially go up: WHO

After several countries relaxed lockdown restrictions, the World Heald Organisation has warned of further spread of the coronavirus. The global pandemic has killed more than 283,000 people worldwide, crippled economies, and forced restrictions on the movement of millions of people.

Geneva: The World Health Organisation warned Monday there is a risk of coronavirus spreading further as countries start to relax their restrictions.

The warning came from Mike Ryan, head of the Health Emergencies Programme at WHO.

Fears of infection spikes in countries that eased their restrictions have been borne out over the past few days in Germany, in the Chinese city of Wuhan where the virus was detected, and in South Korea where one nightclub customer was linked to 85 new cases.

"Shutting your eyes and and trying to drive through this blind is about as silly an equation as I've seen," Ryan told a news briefing in Geneva.

"And I'm really concerned that certain countries are saving themselves up for some seriously blind driving over the next few months."

The global pandemic has killed more than 283,000 people worldwide, crippled economies, and forced restrictions on the movement of millions of people.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks.

But it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death for some people, especially older adults and people with existing health problems.

AP