Fears grow of virus ‘second wave’
New cases emerge just as countries ease lockdown
A SPIKE in new cases has been found in South Korea and China, sparking concerns over an emergent second wave just days after warning levels were downgraded to low risk.
It comes as some European nations move cautiously towards lifting lockdown measures and return children to school, even as protests erupt in Germany against pandemic restrictions.
China, having previously seen a dramatic decline, reported 14 new cases yesterday – its first double-digit rise in 10 days – largely linked to a 45-year-old woman with no recent travel or exposure history.
“Epidemic control and prevention is a serious and complicated matter, and local authorities should never be overly optimistic, war-weary or off-guard,” said Bayin Chaolu, Communist Party secretary for the Jilin region in China which is now braced for more cases.
Jilin also shares a border with North Korea, which insists it has no virus cases, much to the disbelief of international health authorities.
South Korea reported 34 more cases as new infections linked to nightclub-goers threaten the country’s hard-won gains against the virus.
President Moon Jae-in said citizens must neither panic nor let down their guard, but warned that “the damage to our economy is indeed colossal as well”.
In the United States, former President Barack Obama harshly criticised his successor Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic as an “absolute chaotic disaster”.
The USA has seen 1.3m infections and nearly 80,000 deaths in the pandemic, the most in the world by far, according to findings from Johns Hopkins University.
Worldwide, health officials are anxiously watching to see just how much infection rates rise in a second wave as nations and states emerge from varying degrees of lockdown.
Many European nations are easing lockdown restrictions further today, with some younger students allowed to return to school in France this week after two months, and residents in some Spanish regions able to enjoy limited seating at bars, restaurants and other public places.
Germany, which had managed to push daily new infections below 1,000 before deciding to loosen restrictions, has seen regional
It would have been bad even with the best of governments.
Barack Obama, former US president.
spikes in cases linked to both slaughterhouses and nursing homes.
German officials have expressed concerns about the growing number of large demonstrations, including one in the southwestern city of Stuttgart that drew thousands of participants. Police in Berlin stepped in on Saturday after hundreds of people failed to respect social distancing measures at anti-lockdown rallies in the German capital.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and the governors of Germany’s 16 states last week cleared the way for many restaurants, hotels and shuttered stores to edge towards reopening.
The country’s football league also resumes next week, despite a number of professional players testing positive for Covid-19, and more students are set to begin returning to school today.