New York, July 14 -- A senior World Health Organization (WHO) official on Monday, called for the question of school reopenings to be included as part of comprehensive, data-driven COVID-19 public health strategies, and not a politically-driven decision-making process.

Responding to questions from reporters at the regular WHO press briefing in Geneva, Dr. Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, said "we can't play Whack-a-mole. We need to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time".

The senior official said that the topic of school reopenings has become a "political football", which is not fair on children: "decisions must be made on data, and an understanding of the risks. There needs to be a sustain...