Be Prepared For ‘Second Peak’ In Areas Where Covid-19 Is Declining, Warns WHO

As the novel coronavirus cases see a decline in few countries, the World Health Organisation warned on Monday that those countries could still face an “immediate second peak” if they let their guards down too soon.

“The world is still in the middle of the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak,” WHO emergencies head Dr. Mike Ryan told an online briefing while pointing out that COVID-19 cases are still increasing in Central and South America, South Asia and Africa.

Ryan said epidemics usually occur in waves, meaning outbreaks could come back later this year in places where the first wave has dwindled. 

“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 get a number of months to get ready for a second wave. We may get a second peak in this wave.”

Ryan asked countries in Europe and North America to “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."