A report by the mental health department of the World Health Organisation, WHO has warned that the world could see an upsurge in the severity of mental illness, including amongst children, young people, and healthcare workers as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic.
This, according to Devora Kestel, department’s director, Mental Health Department, WHO is a result of the impact of the pandemic on the well-being of many.
“The mental health and wellbeing of the whole societies have been severely impacted by this crisis and they are a priority to be addressed urgently. The isolation, the fear, the uncertainty, the economic turmoil – they all cause or could cause psychological distress,” she said.
The statements came as Russia became the nation with the second-highest number of infections at 242,271, behind the US with just under 1.4 million. The official death toll in Russia is 2,212, although authorities ascribed the deaths of more than 60% of coronavirus patients in April to other causes. Moscow, the center of the country’s outbreak, accounted for 1,232 of those deaths. Tatyana Golikova, Russia’s health minister, denied any falsification of the statistics.
In the US, President Donald Trump said warnings from his top infectious diseases expert on the dangers of lifting restrictions too soon were “not acceptable”.
Trump said he was “surprised” by Anthony Fauci’s caution on reopening the economy and schools too soon.
“To me, it’s not an acceptable answer, especially when it comes to schools,” Trump said. “Our country has got to get back and it’s got to get back as soon as possible, and I don’t consider our country coming back if the schools are closed,” he said, adding that the only thing that would be acceptable would be professors or teachers “over a certain age” not holding classes.
