GENEVA : World Health Organisation (WHO) has said countries need to careful as they prepare to ease coronavirus travel restriction as there is no \u201czero risk\u201d strategy.
\nIn a long-awaited update to its guidance on travel, the United Nations global health agency said cross-border trips for emergencies, humanitarian work, the transfer of essential personnel and repatriation would constitute essential travel.
\n\u201cThere is no \u2018zero risk\u2019 when considering the potential importation or exportation of cases in the context of international travel,\u201d it said in the updated guidance posted on its website on Thursday.
\nA surge of new infections in many parts of the world has prompted some countries to reintroduce some travel restrictions, including testing and quarantining incoming passengers.
\nThe WHO had said in June it would update its travel guidelines before the northern hemisphere summer holidays.
\nThe WHO\u2019s guidance can be used by governments and industries to help shape policies, but is not enforceable.
\nThe updated travel advice is little changed from previous guidance, which also included infection control advice applicable to other settings such as social distancing, wearing masks, washing hands and avoiding touching the face.
\nThe WHO urged each country to conduct its own risk-benefit analysis before lifting any or all travel restrictions. Authorities should take into account local epidemiology and transmission patterns, it said, as well as national health and social distancing measures already in place.
\nCountries that choose to quarantine all travellers on arrival should do so after assessing the risks and consider local circumstances, the WHO said.
\n\u201cCountries should continuously plan for and assess their surge capacities for testing, tracking, isolating and managing imported cases and quarantine of contacts,\u201d it said.
\nThe WHO said this week that international travel bans cannot stay in place indefinitely, and countries will have to do more to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus within their borders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GENEVA : World Health Organisation (WHO) has said countries need to careful as they prepare to ease coronavirus travel restriction as there is no \u201czero risk\u201d strategy. In a long-awaited update to its guidance on travel, the United Nations global health agency said cross-border trips for emergencies, humanitarian work, the transfer of essential personnel and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125282,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n