WHO warns of 'second peak' in areas where COVID-19 declining

FILE PHOTO: Mike Ryan, Executive Director of the World Health Organisation (WHO), attends a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland May 3, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

GENEVA (Reuters) - Countries where coronavirus infections are declining could still face an "immediate second peak" if they let up too soon on measures to halt the outbreak, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

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, noting that while cases are declining in many countries they are still increasing in Central and South America, South Asia and Africa.