The World Health Organization (WHO) has updated its guidelines for preventing the spread of COVID-19, focusing on mask-wearing in community settings, treatment protocols and clinical management.
The organisation says people should continue to wear masks in public as this remains key to controlling the virus.
It also says patients who test negative on an antigen-based rapid test are no longer required to isolate.
In a Twitter post yesterday, the United Nations agency said members of the public can assess and reduce their risk of COVID-19 infection by
1). Getting vaccinated
2). Wearing a mask
3). Avoiding crowds
4). Opening windows
5). Cleaning hands
The latest development comes when the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, the most transmissible COVID-19 subvariant so far, is spreading quickly across the United States and was predicted on Friday to become Europe’s dominant strain in a matter of weeks.
China, where COVID-19 was first reported in China in 2019, recorded a resurgence late last year prompting authorities to impose a new wave of lockdowns and restrictions on freedom of movement in big cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, and Guangzhou.
This did not go well with citizens who protested against the move forcing the government to relax the zero COVID-19 policy.