WHO subject new warning over ‘thriller’ virus and calls for key pandemic restrictions return

As HMPV – once thought to be a mystery virus – appears to sweep the globe , officials at the World Health Organisation have called for the return of three key Coronavirus pandemic restrictions

World Health Organisation bosses have demanded the reintroduction of three key coronavirus restrictions as “mystery” HMPV virus cases grow. Since the start of 2025, the Daily Star has been reporting on rising cases of what was at one point thought to be a mystery virus, but later turned out to be Human Metapneumovirus.

But with Chinese hospitals still swamped, UK cases soaring and many other countries still struggling to deal with the issue, experts from the WHO have no issued new guidance on how to deal with it – and it very much has 2020 vibes to it.

They are now recommending the return of three key Covid restrictions – mask wearing, isolation and hand washing.

A spokesman said: “WHO recommends that individuals in areas where it is winter take normal precautions to prevent the spread and reduce risks posed by respiratory pathogens, especially to the most vulnerable.

“People with mild symptoms should stay home to avoid infecting other people and rest. People at high risk or with complicated or severe symptoms should seek medical care as soon as possible.

“Individuals should also consider wearing a mask in crowded or poorly ventilated spaces, cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or bent elbow, practice regular hand washing, and get recommended vaccines as per physician and local public health authorities’ advice.”

They did, finally, offer some calming words to quell the fears that another pandemic is on the way, however.

Buried deep within their lengthy warning, a WHO official claimed that the “observed increases in acute respiratory infections and associated pathogen detections in many countries in the Northern hemisphere in recent weeks is expected at this time of year and is not unusual”. They added: “The co-circulation of respiratory pathogens may pose a burden to health facilities.”

It comes days after researchers in the Netherlands studied multiple cases and found that a rash often appears on the chest, abdomen, pelvis and back.

Studies in the US and Italy have also reported instances of rashes among patients, with other symptoms such as seizures and vomiting. Common signs of the infection, which is often mistaken for a cold, flu, or Covid, include a runny or blocked nose, sore throat, and fever lasting for five days.

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