WHO: lifting of coronavirus lockdowns must be gradual

The World Health Organization warned that any lifting of lockdowns to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus must be gradual, and if restrictions were to be relaxed too soon, there would be a resurgence of infections.

WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific Takeshi Kasai said that lockdown measures have proved effective, and people must be ready for a new way of living to allow society to function while the coronavirus is being kept in check.

"We must adapt our lives and health systems along with the epidemic," Kasai told an online press conference. "At least until a vaccine, or a very effective treatment, is found, this process will need to become our new normal."

He noted that governments considering lifting lockdown measures should do so carefully and in stages, and continue to monitor the epidemic situation. So long as the coronavirus is circulating, no country is safe from a potentially overwhelming outbreak, Kasai said.

"Individuals and society need to be ready for a new way of living," Reuters cited him as saying.

Kasai also warned that the epidemic must not disrupt vaccination programmes against other diseases like polio, measles and rubella. Otherwise the Western Pacific could face a new crisis when health systems are already strained, he said.