WHO recommends lifting or easing intl traffic bans

GENEVA - The World Health Organization (WHO) advised its member states on Wednesday to lift or ease international traffic bans although it still considers the COVID-19 pandemic a major concern.

The WHO Emergency Committee presented a number of recommendations to the WHO director general, who decided that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

The committee said that proof of vaccination against COVID-19 should not be used as the only pathway or condition permitting international travel, given limited global access to and inequitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

It also advised countries to conduct epidemiological investigations of SARS-CoV-2 transmission at the human-animal interface and targeted surveillance on potential animal hosts and reservoirs.

The committee called for real-time monitoring and data-sharing on SARS-Cov-2 infection, transmission and evolution in animals, noting it will assist the global understanding and timely identification of the virus and the assessment of their public health risks.