WHO and COVID 19

I have been watching the news regularly on TV. It is surprising that the WHO can make misleading statements one after the other. They are funded by the Nations all over the world and are expected to provide guidance and solutions on health issues.

First they said there is no evidence that the virus is transmitted from human to human. It started in China and was spreading. The fact that it was spreading indicates that there was human to human transmission. Like most people at that time, I did not think much about it because it was happening far away in China. There is no free press in China and we cannot expect to get reliable information from there.

The second misleading statement from WHO was that there should be no travel restrictions. If every country had imposed travel restrictions early on, the situation would be much better today.

The WHO also said that the common people should not be wearing masks. They said masks are for health workers.

Now, the WHO insists that testing for the virus is the most important step in controlling its spread. They want mass testing. For a country like India with a population of more than 1.3 billion people it is impossible. We do not have the resources to do that. At present only those with symptoms are tested. Those that test positive have to be tested again and again. When they are cured, they are discharged only after two negative test results. So a person who tests positive will require about four more tests.

The WHO also seems to think that those who test negative are in the clear. There is no guarantee that a person who tests negative today will not turn positive tomorrow.