WHO warns of second peak
The World Health Organisation yesterday warned nations against scaling back coronavirus restrictions too quickly, saying a premature push to return to normalcy could fuel a rapid acceleration of new cases.
‘‘We cannot make assumptions that just because the disease is on the way down now that it’s going to keep going down,’’ Mike Ryan, head of the WHO’s health emergencies programme, told reporters during a briefing yesterday.
He cautioned that countries could face another peak of coronavirus cases even ahead of a presumed second wave of infections months from now. ‘‘The disease can jump up at any time,’’ he added.
That warning echoed concerns from public health experts and others who have urged local, state and federal leaders to move slowly as they seek to reopen their economies. But the pleas for caution collided with a shifting reality as spring gives way to summer.
Latin America has become the new epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, with infections and deaths set to substantially worsen in the coming weeks, the World Health Organisation said.
The region has confirmed just under 700,000 cases and 33,000 deaths, far less than Europe, but grim reports of cities resorting to mass graves and low testing rates in the majority of countries have led to concerns that these figures are a significant underestimate.
‘‘There can be no doubt our region has become the epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic,’’ Dr Carissa Etienne, director of the WHO’s regional office, the Pan American Health Organisation, told a virtual press conference yesterday.
‘‘Now is not the time to relax restrictions or scale back preventive strategies, now is the time to stay strong, to remain vigilant, and to aggressively implement proven public health measures,’’ she added.
The coronavirus is believed to have first arrived in Latin America in late February and has since taken hold in most of the region.
There have been repeated warnings that the outbreak could be exacerbated by underfunded hospitals and stagnating economies, as Latin American governments have far fewer resources to throw at the virus than many of those in Europe or North America.
However, high rates of underlying diseases, including diabetes and cancer, could also cause a higher death rate from the virus, said Etienne.
‘‘We cannot make assumptions that just because the disease is on the way down now that it’s going to keep going down.’’ Mike Ryan head of the WHO’s health emergencies programme
‘‘One of the most concerning aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic is the disproportionate impact of the virus on people suffering from non communicable diseases,’’ she said.
‘‘We have never seen such a deadly relationship between an infectious disease and NCDs. Some of the data is truly alarming, especially for our region where NCDs are pervasive.’’
Etienne warned countries to prepare for and introduce measures to prevent further coronavirus infections, but also to ensure that routine health services are not disrupted – a move that could trigger a ‘‘parallel pandemic of preventable deaths for those with NCDs’’. – Washington Post/Telegraph Group