Beware of ‘second peak’ of Covid-19; WHO

The World Health Organization  emergencies head Dr Mike Ryan has warned in an online briefing, that even though cases are decreasing in many countries,  they are still increasing in Central and South America, South Asia and Africa.

Marking the outbreak as a wavelike phenomenon, Ryan said that the pandemic could return subsequently this year again in locations where the first wave has quieted. There is also a chance of another wave of infections if measures to curb the first wave were removed too early.

“When we speak about a second wave classically what we often mean is there will be a first wave of the disease by itself, and then it recurs months later. And that may be a reality for many countries in a number of months’ time,” Ryan said.

“But we need also to be cognizant of the fact that the disease can jump up at any time. We cannot make assumptions that just because the disease is on the way down now it is going to keep going down and we are get a number of months to get ready for a second wave. We may get a second peak in this wave.”

He said countries in Europe and North America should “continue to put in place the public health and social measures, the surveillance measures, the testing measures and a comprehensive strategy to ensure that we continue on a downwards trajectory and we don’t have an immediate second peak.”

Many European countries and US states have initiated the removal process of lockdown measures in the wake of demand from some corners as well as political pressure.