WHO: People should be tested if exposed

GENEVA: The World Health Organization said people exposed to coronavirus should be tested even if they do not show immediate symptoms, as Paris began strict implementation of maskwearing and the German leader warned of tougher fight against Covid-19 in coming months.

Maria Van Kerkhove, a WHO epidemiologist, said the UN agency recommended suspected cases and their contacts be tested, if possible, but the focus should be on people displaying signs of infection.

Mike Ryan, head of WHO’S emergencies programme, said there was a rationale for testing asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic people, in particular where clusters of infections were emerging, but that broad population testing was costly and unrealistic. “It absorbs huge amounts of resources,” Ryan said. “So we need to focus on testing the right individuals, we need to focus on maximizing the testing in the clusters, and we need to focus on the quality of the testing, and the speed of the turnaround.”

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said an international mission to investigate the virus’s origin would go to Wuhan, where the first infections were detected late last year. Tedros added that an advance team that went to Beijing in July had been in touch with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

From Friday, authorities have made it compulsory to wear masks everywhere in Paris. Until no w, masks were most l y required in crowded areas. Cyclists and people doing exercise will be exempt. German Chancellor Angela Merkel cautioned the crisis will make life more difficult in the coming months.