PanamaTimes

Saturday, Oct 24, 2026

COVID-19 could be with us for a long time

COVID-19 could be with us for a long time

Several outbreaks of coronavirus have appeared around the world as nations try to balance the reopening of their economies with preventing a second wave of infections, while a senior official of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that COVID- 19 could endure among humanity for a long time.
Authorities in the Chinese city of Wuhan were moving forward Wednesday to start Coronavirus tests on the 11 million local people in 10 days after detecting fewer new infections, according to reports.

In Lebanon, authorities reinstated a four-day national quarantine starting Wednesday night due to a sudden increase in reported infections and complaints from officials that people were not abiding by the rules of social distancing.

Dr. Michael Ryan, a senior WHO official, warned of the possibility that the new coronavirus is here to stay.

"This virus may never go away," he said at a press conference. Without a vaccine, it could take years for the world population to build up sufficient levels of immunity, he added.

"It seems important to me to raise it," he said. "This virus could become another endemic virus in our communities," he noted, noting that other previously new diseases like HIV have not disappeared, although effective treatments have been developed.

The United States is the country most affected by the pandemic in the world: it accumulates 1.45 million infected and more than 86,000 deaths, according to the Worldometer May 14 data.

Globally, more than 4.5 million people have been infected and 302,000 of them have died, according to Johns Hopkins. Experts assure that the true figures are possibly much higher.

Despite the danger that loosening the restrictions could cause further spikes in infections, European nations have been trying to resume cross-border travel, particularly as the summer holiday season draws near in countries whose economies depend on overcrowding tourists beaches, museums and historical places.

The European Union unveiled a plan to help citizens of the 27 member nations save their summer vacations after being confined for months by the coronavirus and aiming to revive the battered tourism sector in the region. The pandemic has forced to close the borders in Europe and to cancel the support of the low cost local flights.

The European Commission, presented its recommendations to cancel identity checks at closed borders, help airlines, ferries and buses to stay operational while ensuring the safety of passengers and crews, and develop sanitary measures for hotels.

It is unknown whether EU countries will heed the recommendations, as it is them, not Brussels, who have the last say in health and safety.

Some European countries have sought bilateral agreements with their neighbors.

Austria indicated that it will reopen its border with Germany completely on June 15 and reduce border checks from Friday. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that Austria is trying to reach similar agreements with Switzerland, Liechtenstein and other eastern European neighbors "as long as the contagion figures allow it."

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said his country would raise a general warning against travel to European destinations sooner than elsewhere, but without specifying a date. The German warning against all non-essential tourist travel abroad remains in force until at least June 14.

Nations around the world are trying to strike a balance between people's security and countering the severe economic fallout. Italy partially lifted the restrictions last week and saw a large increase in confirmed coronavirus cases in its worst affected region.

Pakistan reported 2,000 new infections in a single day after the agent crowded local markets after restrictions were relaxed.

European countries have slowly begun to relax their quarantines, from the opening of hairdressers next week in Belgium to the resumption of classes soon in Portugal.

But various security measures are being taken, including reducing the number of children in preschool classes in Belgium and various forms of social distancing.

Sweden has taken a different approach in the fight against coronavirus. The country has stayed wide open, and given the responsibility to the citizens to follow the health and hygiene guidelines. Schools and restaurants have stayed open, but the authorities have asked people to avoid nonessential travel abroad and restrict your transit within the country. As a result the COVID-19 deaths in the country reached figures ten times higher than neighboring Finland and Norway.
Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
Advertising trick: Pepsi’s Harrier Jet Commercial Led to a $700,000 Court Fight
Why 2027 Could Be a Strong Year for Stocks—and Why the Forecast Is Fragile
Trump’s Top General Seeks an Exit Strategy From Iran War, Report Says
Brock Lesnar Retires From Wrestling, Closing a Career of Rare Athletic Range and Lasting Controversy
Trump-Era Policy Shifts Test the Boundaries of U.S. Institutions
Weight-Loss Drug Boom Tests the Limits of Prescription Advertising Rules
Breaking With the Past: One of the World’s Smallest Countries Changes Its Name
AI Is Remaking the US Economy, From GDP Growth to iPhone Prices
Cuba’s Grid Fails Again as Fuel Crisis Deepens
Nazca Lines Flight Crash Kills Thirteen as Peru Suspends Aerodiana
OpenAI Faces Demands for Full Disclosure After Models Breach Hugging Face
FIFA’s Private-Investment Plan for World Cup Rights Draws European Revolt
Why Americans Queue for $15 Ice Cream and a $100 Caviar Pint
OpenAI Sued After ChatGPT Allegedly Discouraged Emergency Care Before Near-Fatal Embolism
Miliband Sets Climate and International Law at Centre of UK Diplomacy
Trump Readies New Tariffs as Temporary Global Levy Nears Expiry
Morgan Stanley Builds a Wall Street Lead in AI Infrastructure Finance
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Venezuela’s Earthquake Devastation Turns U.S. Investment Opportunity Into a Thirty-Seven Billion Dollar Reconstruction Challenge
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
The Ledger Will Not Trust on Faith
Trump Administration Pressures Banks to Restrict Financial Access for Undocumented Immigrants
The Ten World Cup Finals That Defined Football History
Smartphones Are Getting More Expensive, Sales Are Collapsing, and Even Apple Admits: "Prices Will Rise"
The AI Race Enters Its Infrastructure Era
Colombia Influencer Dies After Cosmetic Procedure at Unlicensed Bogota Salon
A Quiet Bastille Day: France Grapples with World Cup Heartbreak and Leftover Fireworks
Spain in Ecstasy: "We Feel Unbeatable, We Taught the Whole World a Lesson"
On the Island That Did Not Yield to Trump, There Is No Electricity, and 10 Million Live in Darkness
World Cup Visitors Turn American Big-Box Stores Into Souvenir Stops
Anthropic Reengineers Agentic Architecture to Shift Autonomous Workplace Automation to the Cloud
Global Crisis Alert: Escalating Middle East Tensions and UK Political Upheaval
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
×