WHO issues criteria to lift the COVID-19 lockdowns

Countries should evaluate and meet six criteria before they lift shelter-in-place restrictions for the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), World Health Organisation (WHO) officials said.

Decisions should be based on "protecting human health" and the scientific knowledge about how the Coronavirus is transmitted, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director General. He outlined six criteria to lift restrictions:

1. Transmission is controlled.

2. Health system capacity is in place to detect, test, isolate, and treat every case and trace every contact.

3. Outbreak risks are minimised in special settings, such as nursing homes.

4. Preventive measures are in place in workplaces, schools, and essential businesses.

5. The risk of people bringing the virus in from other countries is managed.

6. Communities are fully educated, engaged, and empowered to adjust to the new normal.

Countries should put in place comprehensive measures to slow transmission. The risk of additional outbreaks remains high due to global connectivity.

Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme said, "Lockdowns must be replaced with some type of strategy, which will change behaviours for the foreseeable future". In the meantime, countries must increase efforts to test, quarantine, treat, and trace the virus.