The World Health Organization's director-general is warning against relaxing pandemic restrictions too quickly as many countries roll back protocols, according to a Feb. 2 report from The New York Times.
Many European and Asian nations have recently eased pandemic measures. Denmark's government has said it no longer considers COVID-19 a "socially critical disease," and eased restrictions in Norway are some of the world's broadest yet. Now, in the U.S., some governors are pushing for a return to normal, urging federal officials to take a more endemic approach to handling the pandemic.
It's "premature for any country either to surrender, or to declare victory" over the virus, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, director-general of WHO, said at a Feb. 1 news conference.
"We're concerned that a narrative has taken hold in some countries that because of vaccines, and because of omicron's high transmissibility and lower severity, preventing transmission is no longer possible, and no longer necessary," Dr. Tedros said. "Nothing could be further from the truth."
Indoor mask mandates have expired in several U.S. cities, such as Denver; Hartford, Conn.; Baltimore; and San Francisco. Seema Lakdawala, PhD, respiratory virus expert at the University of Pittsburgh, told the Times that she is surprised more states haven't implemented mask mandates.
"I'm not sure anywhere at the moment is in a place that there is sufficient decrease in cases — at least in the U.S. — to warrant taking off mask mandates," Dr. Lakdawala said.