WHO chief admits key error at start of Covid outbreak

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The World Health Organisation‘s outgoing chief scientist has expressed regret over the organisation’s early handling of the Covid pandemic. “But at the same time, we were not forcefully saying: ‘This is an airborne virus.’ I regret that we didn’t do this much, much earlier.” In July 2020, the WHO updated its guidance on airborne transmission, remarking that “airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 can occur during medical procedures that generate aerosols”. “WHO, together with the scientific community, has been actively discussing and evaluating whether Covid may also spread through aerosols in the absence of aerosol-generating procedures, particularly in indoor settings with poor ventilation.” In March 2021, the WHO published an updated report on the relationship between Covid transmission and aerosol-generating procedures, which it described as “any medical procedures that can induce the production of aerosols of various sizes”.