THE EXECUTIVE Director of the World Health Organisation emergencies programme, Irishman Mike Ryan, has spoken out in praise of how the Irish people are reacting to measures implemented to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Mr Ryan, who is from Sligo, has been at the forefront of the global response in tackling the novel coronavirus since its appearance at the end of January this year.
Yesterday he appeared on RTÉ News where he expressed his pride at how the Irish Government were tackling the disease, as well as how Irish communities were rallying together to ensure everyone remains protected.
“I really would like to commend the people in Ireland, the communities in Ireland, who have really taken on board this,” he said.
“They are looking after themselves, they are looking after each other; I’m proud to be an Irishman watching the way in which communities in Ireland have embraced, listened and acted to protect themselves and protect others.”
World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Director Mike Ryan (Photo by PIERRE ALBOUY/AFP via Getty Images)Mr Ryan warned that the disease could be reaching its peak in Europe, but was hopeful that "we can reach control" of the virus.
"We may not get rid of it completely but we can reach a point where we can control the virus and with it we can get our economies and social systems back on track,” he said.
The effective lockdowns which now have almost half of humanity under quarantine is the only way to gain control and put strategies in place, he said, "and I think Ireland is doing a pretty good job at that right now".
While the pandemic across Europe seems to be reaching its peak, he expressed concern for "vulnerable populations" across the globe where the virus has yet to properly take hold.
“It’s spreading along those chains of transmission between people. We have got to break the chain; we know we can break these chains."
There are over one million confirmed cases of Covid-19 across the world, with 245,658 cases in the United States alone according to Johns Hopkins University.
55,132 people have so far lost their lives to the virus.
