STOCKHOLM, March 12 (Xinhua) -- European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) claimed in its latest risk report on Thursday that "containing coronavirus is no longer feasible", and that "a rapid shift from a containment to a mitigation approach is required."
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, however, on Thursday reiterated that countries should not give up on stopping the outbreak although WHO has characterized it as a pandemic.
Tedros warned a shift from containment to mitigation of the disease would be wrong and dangerous, emphasizing COVID-19 is "a controllable pandemic."
In its report, ECDC said that the EU/EEA and Britain are quickly moving toward a scenario of sustained community transmission of COVID-19.
"The situation is evolving very quickly and a rapid, proactive and comprehensive approach is essential in order to delay transmission, as containing transmission to local epidemics is no longer considered feasible," the report claimed.
"A rapid shift from a containment to a mitigation approach is required," the ECDC report said.
"Measures taken at this stage should ultimately aim at protecting the most vulnerable population groups from severe illness and fatal outcome by reducing transmission and reinforcing healthcare systems," said the report.
In the current situation where COVID-19 is rapidly spreading worldwide and the number of cases in Europe is rising with increasing pace in several affected areas, there is a need for immediate targeted action, it said.
The ECDC, headquartered in the Swedish capital since 2005, works with health authorities across Europe to fight infectious diseases.
