At a briefing on Wednesday, WHO emergencies director Dr Mike Ryan warned against trying to predict when the virus would disappear. He added that even if a vaccine is found, controlling the virus will require a “massive effort”.

Almost 300,000 people worldwide are reported to have died from coronavirus, with more than 4.3m confirmed cases.

The UN meanwhile warned the pandemic was causing widespread distress and mental ill health – particularly in countries where there is a lack of investment in mental healthcare. The UN urged governments to make mental health considerations part of their overall response.

Dr Ryan told the virtual press conference from Geneva, “It is important to put this on the table: this virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities, and this virus may never go away……….HIV has not gone away – but we have come to terms with the virus.”

Dr Ryan says, no-one can predict when this will disappear, and that it may never go away. Historically, corona viruses come and go. They last on and off for a couple of years, then simply disappear or mutate into a new form. COVID19 cannot be compared to HIV. The UN warn about wide-spread mental ill-health and that many countries do not have capacity for this. But surely it is the lockdown and the exaggerated fear that is causing the mental illness? All evidence so far continues to show that for the vast majority of people, the virus is not dangerous.