WHO warns of 'immediate second peak' if restrictions eased too soon; global cases near 5.5M

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Employees wearing face shields and masks work at the Matsuya Ginza department store, which partially reopened in Tokyo on May 25. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted the state of emergency in the city. Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo
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People gather at Rye Playland Beach in New York City on May 24. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
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Olivette Lanes owner Don Klackner uses a mop to clean the lanes at his bowling alley in Olivette, Mo., on May 19. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
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Dentist Ronald Sherstoff examines a high-speed drill at his office in Chesterfield, Mo., on May 19. Sherstoff has purchased an air filtration system that destroys airborne viruses that could be caused by the drill, and all staff will use gowns, masks, gloves and face shields to protect themselves. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
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Students wear protective masks as they return to the Yankus Korchak Elementary School in Jerusalem on May 18. Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo
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School attendance will be voluntary around Israel and classes returning to session will be at the discretion of local authorities. Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo
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Server Tamara Martinez cleans containers at The Soda Fountain containing candy on the first day of operation after reopening in St. Louis on May 18. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
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Soda jerk Ronell McCollum finishes making a Super Shake at the Soda Fountain. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
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Salesman Drew Murphy tries out a new mattress on the showroom floor at Mattress Giant in Richmond Heights, Mo., on May 18. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
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Sales clerk Sarah Rhim stocks shelves with new dresses at Mister Guy for Women Clothiers in Ladue, Mo., on May 15. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
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Bobby Smith (L) and his wife, Boni Smith, enjoy drinks at an open restaurant in Lake Geneva, Wis., on May 15. Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/UPI | License Photo
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The Wisconsin Supreme Court, backed by Republican lawmakers, overturned the governor's stay-at-home order. Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/UPI | License Photo
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Owner Robert Zanti takes a break from getting his restaurant ready for reopening after being closed for nearly two months in St. Louis on May 13. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
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A man walks into a bakery in Edwardsville, Ill., on May 13. Madison County board members have agreed to reopen the county, officially going against Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's statewide stay-home order. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
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Cook Joe Eisenbraun prepares to wrap a "Heart Attack" sandwich at Crown Candy in St. Louis on May 12. Crown Candy is serving only at curbside until the stay-at-home orders are lifted in Missouri later in the month. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
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Owner Andy Karandzieff pours a milkshake at Crown Candy. The popular restaurant has reopened after four weeks. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
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A mother and child wear protective masks as they walk down a street in Paris on May 12. Photo by Eco Clement/UPI | License Photo
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France has cautiously begun to lift its lockdown this week with shops allowed to reopen, including in the capital, which still faces tight restrictions. Photo by Eco Clement/UPI | License Photo
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claps outside Downing Street in London to show his support for key workers during the coronavirus pandemic on May 7. Doctors released Johnson from the intensive care unit in mid-April after he spent about a week in the hospital with COVID-19 Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo
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Shoppers wear masks in the Mahane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem on May 7. Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo
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A security guard checks the temperature of a woman before granting her entrance to the Rami Levy Atarot Mall near Jerusalem. The Atarot Mall is the first Israeli-Palestinian Mall. Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo
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Israel opened malls and outdoor markets after more than 40 days of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic restrictions. Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo
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Customers have their hair washed at JF Hair Co. in Union, Mo., on May 6. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
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Stylist Chrissy Whitley trims the hair of customer Mark Nolting at JF Hair Co. The salon reopened on May 4 after being closed since March 23. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
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People visit the beach after the the city relaxed restrictions in Isle of Palms, S.C, on May 6. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo
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The beach reopened for the first time since March. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo
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Nicholas Calio, president and CEO of Airlines for America, uses disinfecting wipes before testifying before a hearing on the pandemic's impact on the aviation industry May 6 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Photo by Jim Watson/UPI | License Photo
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Workers wipe down chairs between Senate committee hearings in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill. Photo by Jonathan Ernst/UPI | License Photo
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Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., talks to reporters at a distance after the Senate reconvened following an extended recess due to the pandemic on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on May 4. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walks to the Senate chambers. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
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Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, talks to reporters as the Senate reconvened. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
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Peter Wolff, owner of the The Gift Nook store, looks down Main Street for customers in St. Charles, Mo., on May 4. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
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People enjoy ice cream at Kilwins as others walk on the sidewalk in St. Charles. The shop on Historic Main Street has reopened with other selected businesses after being closed for nearly two months by an emergency state order aimed at stopping the spread of coronavirus. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
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Don (L) and Robin Piatt sit on an elevated outdoor porch, toasting each other on their wedding anniversary, at Lewis and Clark's Restaurant in St. Charles. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
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Customers have lunch inside El Toro Mexican restaurant in Clute, Texas on May 3. Photo by Trask Smith/UPI | License Photo
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Restaurants in Texas were allowed to reopen their diving rooms at 25 percent capacity starting on May 1 as the state began easing restrictions based on COVID-19. Photo by Trask Smith/UPI | License Photo
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Shoppers return to Northpark Mall in Dallas on May 1. Elbow bumps have become the new handshake. Photo by Ian Halperin/UPI | License Photo
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A hairstylist and his client wear protective face masks and gloves at a salon in Jerusalem on May 1. Israel has eased some coronavirus restrictions, allowing small stores and beauty salons to open, while maintaining the strict social distancing rules. Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo
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Pedestrians wear mandatory face masks and gloves while shopping in Jerusalem. Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo
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Pedestrians no longer practice "social distancing" but continue to wear protective face masks while visiting a popular entertainment district in Beijing on April 26. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
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Florida has allowed some of the states beaches to reopen, including this one along the Space Coast near Cocoa Beach on April 26. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo
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Pedestrians walk closely together in Beijing on April 19. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
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Pedestrians walk down the Sugamo Jizo Dori shopping street in Tokyo on April 11. On Monday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted the state of emergency in the capital city. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo

May 25 (UPI) -- Amid a rash of countries and regions the globe over moving to reopen their economies and lift their people out from under lockdown measures, the World Health Organization on Monday warned there could be an "immediate second peak" of the coronavirus before there is a second wave.

With infections on the decline, countries such as Japan, New Zealand and Britain on Monday announced further easing to restrictive measures imposed months earlier when their number of coronavirus cases surged.

However, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, responded to a reporter's question concerning scenarios of a second wave, stating the world is still in the middle of the first wave of infections with cases still increasing.

"Right now, we're not in the second wave, we're right in the middle of the first wave, globally, and if we look at the data from Central and South America, for Africa, for South Asia and for many other countries, we're still very much in a phase where the disease is actually on the way up," he said during a televised press conference.

Since the virus emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan early December and then spread the globe over, former epicenters, such as Europe and Asia, have seen daily infections decline to low numbers.

While Ryan said those countries should be applauded for containing and suppressing the virus the percentage of people in those nations who have been infected is low meaning many more are still susceptible to the disease.

A second wave, he explained, follows when a virus, once having rampantly spread, slows before resurging several months later. Concerning COVID-19, he said countries need to be cognizant it can "jump up at any time."

"We cannot make assumptions that just because the disease is on the way down now that it's going to keep going down and we're going to get a number of months to get ready for a second wave," he said. "We may get a second peak in this wave."

A second peak has occurred during previous pandemics, he explained, urging European, North American and Southeast Asian countries to continue public health, social surveillance, testing and other measures as well as implement a comprehensive strategy to prevent "an immediate second peak" in cases.

Discussions over a possible second wave can be had later in the year, he said.

Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical COVID-19 lead with the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, added that all countries need to be on "high alert" against the virus.

"Let us be perfectly clear: All countries need to remain on high alert here," she said. "All countries need to be ready to rapidly detect cases -- even countries that have had success in suppression. Even countries thave have seen a decline in cases must remain ready."

Based on studies of the virus, a large portion of the population remains susceptible to it, meaning if it finds an opportunity to start an outbreak, it will, she said.

The warning came as the number of global infections climbed to 5.5 million on Monday.

Health experts at Johns Hopkins University have tallied 5,494,287 coronavirus patients as of late Monday, with the United States reporting by far the highest number of infections at more than 1.6 million.

Japan, with 16,581 cases and 820 deaths, according to its health ministry, has been experiencing a decline since a peak in mid-April, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday lifted a state of emergency in Tokyo.

The prime minister also declared an end to the emergency in Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures, as well as Hokkaido, about a week earlier than expected. He declared the emergency in Tokyo on April 16 in response to climbing coronavirus cases and deaths.

At its peak, Japan was reporting about 1,000 confirmed new cases in a day, but that number has dwindled.

"Recently, new infection cases have fallen below 50 for the entire nation," Abe said, "and what was once nearly 10,000 hospitalized cases -- that has now fallen below 2,000.

"The lifting of the emergency does not mean the virus is gone or infections are down to zero. Our battle against the virus will continue."

In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that starting early June thousands of shuttered shops, department stores and shopping centers may resume business.

The prime minister said from June 1 outdoor markets and car showrooms may reopen if they can ensure COVID-19 guidelines are met and all other non-essential retail may open their doors to the public on June 15, his office said in a release.

Shops, such as supermarkets and pharmacies, have been open during the pandemic.

"I want to give the retail notice of our intention that they too can get ready," Johnson said in a press conference.

The announcement came as the British Department of Health and Social Care reported 261,184 confirmed positive cases of the virus after recording 1,625 new patients in the previous 24 hours. Nearly 37,000 have died from the virus in the country.

In Palestine, the government also announced Monday it would be ending its lockdown amid falling coronavirus numbers.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, there have been 602 cases of infection with zero new cases recorded on Sunday and nine on Saturday.

The lifting of lockdown measures permits industry to resume after the Eid holiday and churches and mosques to reopen from Tuesday with social distancing practices in place, Arab News reported.

In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the limit on gatherings will be expanded to 100 people by the week's end.

"We want to get our economy moving quickly without losing the gains we have made to date," she said during a news conference.

The archipelago nation has been one of the fastest to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic through issuing strict lockdown measures in mid-March, which have since been slowly eased.

Currently at level 2, the second-lowest of its four-level lockdown measure, New Zealand has permitted gatherings of up to 10 people, but staring Friday that limit will be upped to 100, Ardern said.

Ardern said the government will regularly adjust restrictions to allow for more activity when medical advice permits it. New Zealand moved to level 2 on May 14.

The New Zealand Ministry of Health has reported 1,154 cases of COVID-19 and 21 deaths with 15 new cases this month.

Ardern said its drop in cases despite easing of restrictions runs counter to what other countries have experienced and that is due to New Zealanders following the rules to maintain social distancing.

The expanded limit on gatherings, she said, will still prevent large concerts but more events can occur from noon Friday when the measure goes into effect.

"These changes are good news for business and for those who look to plan larger gatherings," she said. "It's another step in renormalizing life as we continue to stamp out the virus."

In neighboring Australia, schools in New South Wales and Queensland reopened Monday with their premiers encouraging people to continue to work from home if possible to relieve pressure on the transit system.

"I am very pleased that the system hasn't been overwhelmed," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said during a press conference.

Australia, like New Zealand, has fared better than most countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic, recording 7,109 total cases and 102 deaths from the virus. The ministry of health reported four new cases in the past 24 hours.

Oceania nations have so far fought off the worst of the pandemic with stringent lockdown measures, recording 8,726 cases and 123 deaths, according to worldometers.info.

World moves to reopen amid COVID-19 pandemic

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