New Delhi, May 28: Even as some parts of the third-world including India, Brazil, Chile and Peru are still awaiting the COVID-19 peak despite a continuous surge in new cases, a slew of countries in the first-world have overcome the most disastrous phase of pandemic. The battle, according to World Health Organisation (WHO), is far from over as a second wave of the virus outbreak is "imminent". COVID-19 Mutation Fears Sparked as China Observes Changes in New Cluster of Cases.

According to the global health body, countries which are now recording the minimum number of cases may be among firsts to be captured by the "second wave" of COVID-19. The easing up of measures would accelerate the pace of hitting the second peak of coronavirus, warned WHO emergencies head Dr Mike Ryan.

“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,” he said.

According to Ryan, the countries based in North America and Europe are at the maximum risk of facing the second onslaught of COVID-19. Most of the nations based in the region are rushing towards ending the lockdown in a bid to bring the derailed economies back on track.

The zeal to relax restrictions may end up sparking another wave of infections, the WHO official warned. The only way to prevent another round of disease outbreak is to prepare a comprehensive strategy which involves stringent medical surveillance, utmost use of public health utilities and continue testing of asymptomatic suspects in an expedited manner.

According to Dr Hans Kluge, director for the WHO European region, coronavirus in Europe, the US and Canada may return in a sharp manner in winter -- when the temperature drops and creates a conducive atmosphere for virus spread. The season also witnesses a number of influenza cases each year.

Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), called on Americans to use the coming months to prepare -- and get their flu shots. "There's a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through," he was quoted as saying in an interview with the Washington Post last month.

In the Far East and Southeast Asia - which were among the first to be gripped by coronavirus crisis - the fear of an imminent second wave of coronavirus continues to loom. China, the epicentre of virus outbreak, decided to reimpose lockdown in Wuhan and two provinces in the North - Jilin and Heilongjiang - after a spree of fresh infections.

Qiu Haibo, one of China’s top critical care doctors, said the virus could also had potentially mutated itself as the symptoms seen in new patients differ from the earlier set of victims. "The longer period during which infected patients show no symptoms has created clusters of family infections," he said, claiming that in some cases the patients had shown no symptoms for over two weeks.

South Korea, another country in the region severely hit by COVID-19, a spike of 79 new cases were recorded on Thursday -- the sharpest in the last two months. According to officials, the reporting of fresh cases comes days after restrictions were lifted to facilitate public movement. The health department is fearful of fresh clusters of coronavirus being created due to the easing of curbs.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 28, 2020 06:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).