A New Zealand epidemiologist has slammed advice from World Health Organization (WHO) staff that condemned the use of lockdowns.
University of Otago public health Professor Michael Baker said a lesson in the COVID-19 response is to be "very cautious about acting on advice from overseas organisations", and New Zealand is an example where lockdowns have saved it "from the worst effects of the pandemic".
While he didn't name specific people and instead talked generally about "WHO staff", WHO special envoy for coronavirus Dr David Nabarro appealed to world leaders earlier this week to stop applying lockdowns as their primary control method and instead "develop better systems".
Dr Nabarro told British magazine The Spectator that lockdowns have a major consequence that is not being widely considered - they are "making poor people an awful lot poorer".
"Just look at what's happened to the tourism industry in the Caribbean, for example, or in the Pacific because people aren't taking their holidays. Look what's happened to smallholder farmers all over the world," he said.
"Look what's happening to poverty levels; it seems that we may well have a doubling of world poverty by next year. We may well have at least a doubling of child malnutrition.
"The only time we believe a lockdown is justified is to buy you time to reorganise, regroup, rebalance your resources, protect your health workers who are exhausted - but by and large, we'd rather not do it."
Dr Nabarro's comments reflect those of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who at a media briefing in August said lockdowns should not be employed as a long-term solution for any country.
Prof Baker said WHO, among other global health agencies, have "all let us down badly" during the pandemic.
"The WHO performs many vital roles in supporting health gain across the globe, but its advice on COVID-19 has frequently been poor. WHO was late to declare COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency (of International Concern) and a global pandemic," he said in a statement released by the Science Media Centre on Tuesday.
"WHO staff have at times advised against closing borders, mass masking, and now use of lockdowns. These are exactly the measures that have saved New Zealand and many other countries from the worst effects of the pandemic. The WHO needs more resources to help it do its job better in future."
WHO hasn't "seemed to grasp the value" of elimination that Prof Baker says is being successfully pursued by New Zealand, most states in Australia and much of east and southeast Asia.
"The elimination approach uses tight border management and short, sharp lockdowns as a way of eliminating COVID-19 transmission in the community. This is a very different approach to the prolonged lockdowns used in Europe and North America that can only suppress the virus, which then returns when the lockdown is eased," he said.
"Part of the problem is that WHO and the other major organisations we have traditionally relied on for advice are based in Europe and North America and have tended to see the pandemic from their own regional and frequently dysfunctional perspective."
He said New Zealand is learning from countries such as Taiwan, who have not only had a "particularly successful pandemic response" but have also "ensured a more rapid economic recovery".
WHO spokesperson Dr Margaret Harris clarified to RNZ's Morning Report on Tuesday that Dr Nabarro was instead referring to countries who only use lockdowns instead of also using contact tracing, testing and physical distancing - he "certainly wasn't referring to New Zealand".
She said New Zealand is an example where officials communicated well with the public to explain the COVID-19 response.
"In New Zealand there was a lot of clarity about what was expected and why things were going to be done, and that's extremely important, that people understand what's going to happen and why it's going to happen," she said.
Dr Harris added the second lockdown in Auckland was an example of targeted restriction.
"We certainly, again, like to see that countries respond to what their transmission is doing and where it's going on. So we recommend that using the testing, tracing and isolation and quarantine approach, that it be done very much in a tailored way."
She said WHO isn't advising against lockdowns altogether, but they are instead a "final resort".
