Countries must ease lockdowns slowly, be ready for virus to jump back - WHO

Joggers, walkers and cyclists take the chance to exercise as South Africa starts to relax some aspects of a stringent nationwide coronavirus lockdown in Cape Town, South Africa, on May 1, 2020. [Reuters]

Countries must lift lockdowns gradually, while still being “on the look-out” for COVID-19 and ready to restore restrictions if the virus jumps back, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

Vulnerable people in institutions, including those in long-term care facilities, prisons and migrant dormitories, must be protected, its top emergencies expert Dr. Mike Ryan said.