WHO: Lockdowns not enough to defeat virus, public health measures needed

The World Health Organization (WHO) says lockdowns are not enough to defeat the coronavirus pandemic, noting that public health measures are still needed to avoid a resurgence of the virus once the restrictions are lifted.

"What we really need to focus on is finding those who are sick, those who have the virus, and isolate them, find their contacts and isolate them," Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s emergencies program said on Sunday.

"The danger right now with the lockdowns ... if we don't put in place the strong public health measures now, when those movement restrictions and lockdowns are lifted, the danger is the disease will jump back up."

As many as 300,000 infections have been confirmed worldwide with more than 13,000 fatalities.

As cases of infection with the new coronavirus continue to surge throughout the world, governments are scrambling to put restrictions in place to contain the deadly pandemic.

The restrictions have confined one billion people to their homes in different countries.

Ryan also said the examples of China, Singapore and South Korea, which coupled restrictions with rigorous measures to test every possible suspect, provided a model for Europe which has now become the epicenter of the pandemic.

"Once we've suppressed the transmission, we have to go after the virus. We have to take the fight to the virus," Ryan said.

Asked about development of a possible vaccine for the virus, the WHO official said several vaccines are in development, but only one has begun trials in the United States.

Asked how long it would take before there was a vaccine available in Britain, he said that people needed to be realistic, adding, "We have to make sure that it's absolutely safe... we are talking at least a year."

"The vaccines will come, but we need to get out and do what we need to do now."

The European Union has been ramping up its efforts to coordinate the fight against the virus across all its 27 member states as WHO warned on Friday that Europe was now the “epicenter” of the global coronavirus pandemic and was reporting more daily cases than China did at the height of its outbreak.

Italy, the world’s hardest hit country, recorded a jump in its death tally from the viral infection on Saturday. Fatalities jumped by 793 to 4,825 in the largest one-day rise since the contagion emerged in Italy a month ago.

Confirmed cases of infection also rose to 53,578 from 47,021, the Civil Protection Agency said Sunday.

This is while China where the pathogen has recorded 3,245 deaths from the virus.

China embarks on clinical trial for virus vaccine

China has started the first phase of a clinical trial for a novel coronavirus vaccine as the world's scientists race to find a way to combat the deadly pathogen.

US health officials also said last week they had started a trial to evaluate a possible vaccine in Seattle.

The Chinese effort is expected to continue until the end of the year, according to a filing in the country's Clinical Trial Registry, dated March 17.

"Volunteers of the COVID-19 phase one trial have already started receiving the vaccine," a staff member involved in the project told AFP on Sunday.

The 108 participants, aged between 18 and 60, will be tested in three groups and given different dosages.

They are all residents of the central city of Wuhan -- where the new coronavirus first emerged late last year.

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages and governments step up protection measures, pharmaceutical companies and research labs around the world are working at full tilt.

There are currently no approved vaccines or medication for the new disease, which has killed more than 13,000 people worldwide so far.

Russia sends virus experts, medics to Italy

Russia has sent the first of nine military planes which are to take a total of 100 army virus experts and medics to Italy to help fight the coronavirus pandemic there.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday the aid mission was agreed by President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

They spoke on the phone Saturday evening, the Kremlin said.

The military transport planes arrived overnight at an aerodrome outside Moscow and eight medical teams were ready to fly out with mobile aerosol disinfecting units and medical equipment, the Defense Ministry said.

The first plane took off Sunday and was due to land at the Pratica di Mare military airport outside Rome, the ministry said.

The planes are set to fly out a group of around 100 people including specialists on viruses and epidemics from the defense ministry who have "significant international experience of fighting epidemics," it said.

The ministry said that the experts had previously taken part in fighting Ebola, African swine fever and anthrax outbreaks.

Russia has a total of 306 confirmed cases of coronavirus so far.

Putin visited Italy in July last year and has often spoken of his long friendship with former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

SS