A researcher takes a sample from an animal. Credit: CDC Global via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0.
The Covid-19 pandemic has shown us how vulnerable we are to deadly infectious diseases. How we got here has been decades in the making, with plenty of warning signs along the way, from SARS to MERS to Ebola to Zika. And we’ve known for a long time what drives zoonotic diseases to spill over into humans: the wildlife trade, intensive agriculture, deforestation, to name a few factors. As human populations grow and demands for food and natural resources increase, we must anticipate more deadly pandemics, leading to more lockdowns, more fear, and more disruption, economic and otherwise, in our lives. We must remember that we interact with the natural world everyday by breathing air, drinking water, and eating plants and animals.
Covid-19 plan of escape awaited rte.ie - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rte.ie Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
No more Level 5 lockdown says top Irish WHO doctor adding this should be the last irishmirror.ie - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from irishmirror.ie Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Social Affairs & Religion Correspondent
The Executive Director of the World Health Organisation s Health Emergencies Programme has warned that after frontline workers and the most vulnerable are vaccinated, reopening society will need to be managed carefully.
Dr Mike Ryan who received Trócaire s Romero Award at an online ceremony today said if societies open up, the virus will spread again and it will cause massive disruption.
He called for prioritisation in relation to children returning to school, getting essential health services back on track and ensuring social and mental health services are available to people who are suffering.
On Ireland s approach to Covid-19, he said the Irish people had done well to crush the curve three times, which he noted had been done quite quickly on each occasion.