WHO: Especially crucial that health workers in Karabakh kept safe from violence to sustain COVID-19 response

By Trend

It is especially crucial that all health workers are kept safe from violence in Nagorno Karabakh to allow them to sustain the COVID- 19 pandemic response, WHO spokesperson told Trend.

WHO remains deeply concerned regarding the escalation in hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the areas of and around Nagorno-Karabakh.

“We continue to have no access to Nagorno-Karabakh and movements of the international organizations are limited due to security concerns; this makes it challenging for us to assess the current COVID-19 situation in Nagorno-Karabakh,” the spokesperson said.

“Since late September, the violence has already led to hundreds of injured and many deaths. Our hearts go out to all civilians in the conflict. We hope this situation will be resolved soon, without any further loss of life from any of the parties. WHO calls for no time lost nor efforts unspent in protecting lives and livelihoods from a public health threat unprecedented in our lifetimes,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that the impact of the conflict on the COVID-19 situation is already being seeing in a dramatic acceleration in transmission.

“COVID-19 will take advantage of any lapse in vigilance, any crisis that turns our attention away from the global effort to stop its deadly march. To improve the COVID-related situation in Nagorno Karabakh, WHO urges to refrain from attacks on civilians and health-care facilities, so that health systems that are already stretched by the pandemic will not be further burdened. It is especially crucial that all health workers are kept safe from violence to allow them to sustain the pandemic response,” the spokesperson said.

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