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Many visitors strolled on the Boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey on May 25, 2020. (Photo: Donald Kravitz/Getty Images)
Countries Rushing to Reopen Risk 'Immediate Second Peak' In Covid-19 Infections and Deaths, WHO Warns
Dr. Mike Ryan, director of WHO's Health Emergencies Program, called on countries that have seen a decline in cases to continue imposing social distancing and testing strategies.
May 26, 2020
The director of the World Health Organization's program overseeing health crises warned Tuesday that countries that rush to reopen their economies risk immediately causing a massive increase in coronavirus infections and deaths.
Dr. Mike Ryan, head of WHO's Health Emergencies Program, addressed the incorrect assumption that once a country's Covid-19 cases begin to decline, the first wave of the pandemic is on its way out and governments will have several months to prepare for a potential second wave in the fall.
In addition to preparing for another wave of outbreaks later this year, Ryan said that public health officials and governments "need also to be cognizant of the fact that the disease can jump up at any time."
"We cannot make assumptions that just because the disease is on the way down now it is going to keep going down and we are [getting] a number of months to get ready for a second wave," said Ryan. "We may get a second peak in this wave."
Although people across the U.S. and parts of Europe have begun to venture out into public life and governments have ordered shops and restaurants to reopen, giving the impression the danger is lifting, Ryan pointed out that the world is still in the middle of the first wave of the global pandemic, with cases rising in Africa, South Asia, and Central and South America.
In Europe and North America, where cases currently appear to be on the decline, officials must "continue to put in place the public health and social measures, the surveillance measures, the testing measures, and a comprehensive strategy to ensure that we continue on a downwards trajectory and we don't have an immediate second peak," Ryan said.
\u201c\u201cWe may get a second peak in this wave, this happened during pandemics in the past.\u201d\n\nThe WHO\u2019s Dr Mike Ryan warns of a second peak - not necessarily a second wave \u2013 of coronavirus cases. He adds, we need to be cognizant that the disease can \u201cjump up at any time\u201d.\u201d— Channel 4 News (@Channel 4 News) 1590492938
Ryan's comments came days after Americans were photographed packed onto California beaches and Maryland boardwalks over Memorial Day weekend.
All 50 U.S. states have at least partially reopened, and states which have implemented the most conservative reopening plans are set to end stay-at-home orders by early June.
States including Arkansas, Maryland, and West Virginia have seen their infection rates increase since reopening large parts of their economies in recent weeks.
In European countries including the U.K., France, and Denmark, cases have begun to go down, but Ryan warned leaders in those countries to remain vigilant as well.
In the U.K., some schools are set to reopen June 1 and non-essential businesses have been directed to reopen June 15.
On Twitter, writer and activist Richard Seymour said governments are "pretty determinedly leading us into the second peak."
\u201cThe government is pretty determinedly leading us into the second peak, by insisting on reopening schools and businesses so soon.\n\nWHO warns of 'second peak' as it drops hydroxychloroquine trial | Coronavirus outbreak | The Guardian https://t.co/MYBjcAlKYD\u201d— Richard Seymour (@Richard Seymour) 1590484690
Ryan noted that during the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic, the world saw three waves over a year and a half. Most U.S. deaths took place during the second wave in the fall of 1918, and public health experts placed blame for the high death toll on government officials who were reluctant to impose quarantines during the less deadly first wave.
As of Tuesday, more than 98,000 Americans have died of Covid-19, and the worldwide death toll has surpassed 346,000.
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The director of the World Health Organization's program overseeing health crises warned Tuesday that countries that rush to reopen their economies risk immediately causing a massive increase in coronavirus infections and deaths.
Dr. Mike Ryan, head of WHO's Health Emergencies Program, addressed the incorrect assumption that once a country's Covid-19 cases begin to decline, the first wave of the pandemic is on its way out and governments will have several months to prepare for a potential second wave in the fall.
In addition to preparing for another wave of outbreaks later this year, Ryan said that public health officials and governments "need also to be cognizant of the fact that the disease can jump up at any time."
"We cannot make assumptions that just because the disease is on the way down now it is going to keep going down and we are [getting] a number of months to get ready for a second wave," said Ryan. "We may get a second peak in this wave."
Although people across the U.S. and parts of Europe have begun to venture out into public life and governments have ordered shops and restaurants to reopen, giving the impression the danger is lifting, Ryan pointed out that the world is still in the middle of the first wave of the global pandemic, with cases rising in Africa, South Asia, and Central and South America.
In Europe and North America, where cases currently appear to be on the decline, officials must "continue to put in place the public health and social measures, the surveillance measures, the testing measures, and a comprehensive strategy to ensure that we continue on a downwards trajectory and we don't have an immediate second peak," Ryan said.
\u201c\u201cWe may get a second peak in this wave, this happened during pandemics in the past.\u201d\n\nThe WHO\u2019s Dr Mike Ryan warns of a second peak - not necessarily a second wave \u2013 of coronavirus cases. He adds, we need to be cognizant that the disease can \u201cjump up at any time\u201d.\u201d— Channel 4 News (@Channel 4 News) 1590492938
Ryan's comments came days after Americans were photographed packed onto California beaches and Maryland boardwalks over Memorial Day weekend.
All 50 U.S. states have at least partially reopened, and states which have implemented the most conservative reopening plans are set to end stay-at-home orders by early June.
States including Arkansas, Maryland, and West Virginia have seen their infection rates increase since reopening large parts of their economies in recent weeks.
In European countries including the U.K., France, and Denmark, cases have begun to go down, but Ryan warned leaders in those countries to remain vigilant as well.
In the U.K., some schools are set to reopen June 1 and non-essential businesses have been directed to reopen June 15.
On Twitter, writer and activist Richard Seymour said governments are "pretty determinedly leading us into the second peak."
\u201cThe government is pretty determinedly leading us into the second peak, by insisting on reopening schools and businesses so soon.\n\nWHO warns of 'second peak' as it drops hydroxychloroquine trial | Coronavirus outbreak | The Guardian https://t.co/MYBjcAlKYD\u201d— Richard Seymour (@Richard Seymour) 1590484690
Ryan noted that during the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic, the world saw three waves over a year and a half. Most U.S. deaths took place during the second wave in the fall of 1918, and public health experts placed blame for the high death toll on government officials who were reluctant to impose quarantines during the less deadly first wave.
As of Tuesday, more than 98,000 Americans have died of Covid-19, and the worldwide death toll has surpassed 346,000.
The director of the World Health Organization's program overseeing health crises warned Tuesday that countries that rush to reopen their economies risk immediately causing a massive increase in coronavirus infections and deaths.
Dr. Mike Ryan, head of WHO's Health Emergencies Program, addressed the incorrect assumption that once a country's Covid-19 cases begin to decline, the first wave of the pandemic is on its way out and governments will have several months to prepare for a potential second wave in the fall.
In addition to preparing for another wave of outbreaks later this year, Ryan said that public health officials and governments "need also to be cognizant of the fact that the disease can jump up at any time."
"We cannot make assumptions that just because the disease is on the way down now it is going to keep going down and we are [getting] a number of months to get ready for a second wave," said Ryan. "We may get a second peak in this wave."
Although people across the U.S. and parts of Europe have begun to venture out into public life and governments have ordered shops and restaurants to reopen, giving the impression the danger is lifting, Ryan pointed out that the world is still in the middle of the first wave of the global pandemic, with cases rising in Africa, South Asia, and Central and South America.
In Europe and North America, where cases currently appear to be on the decline, officials must "continue to put in place the public health and social measures, the surveillance measures, the testing measures, and a comprehensive strategy to ensure that we continue on a downwards trajectory and we don't have an immediate second peak," Ryan said.
\u201c\u201cWe may get a second peak in this wave, this happened during pandemics in the past.\u201d\n\nThe WHO\u2019s Dr Mike Ryan warns of a second peak - not necessarily a second wave \u2013 of coronavirus cases. He adds, we need to be cognizant that the disease can \u201cjump up at any time\u201d.\u201d— Channel 4 News (@Channel 4 News) 1590492938
Ryan's comments came days after Americans were photographed packed onto California beaches and Maryland boardwalks over Memorial Day weekend.
All 50 U.S. states have at least partially reopened, and states which have implemented the most conservative reopening plans are set to end stay-at-home orders by early June.
States including Arkansas, Maryland, and West Virginia have seen their infection rates increase since reopening large parts of their economies in recent weeks.
In European countries including the U.K., France, and Denmark, cases have begun to go down, but Ryan warned leaders in those countries to remain vigilant as well.
In the U.K., some schools are set to reopen June 1 and non-essential businesses have been directed to reopen June 15.
On Twitter, writer and activist Richard Seymour said governments are "pretty determinedly leading us into the second peak."
\u201cThe government is pretty determinedly leading us into the second peak, by insisting on reopening schools and businesses so soon.\n\nWHO warns of 'second peak' as it drops hydroxychloroquine trial | Coronavirus outbreak | The Guardian https://t.co/MYBjcAlKYD\u201d— Richard Seymour (@Richard Seymour) 1590484690
Ryan noted that during the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic, the world saw three waves over a year and a half. Most U.S. deaths took place during the second wave in the fall of 1918, and public health experts placed blame for the high death toll on government officials who were reluctant to impose quarantines during the less deadly first wave.
As of Tuesday, more than 98,000 Americans have died of Covid-19, and the worldwide death toll has surpassed 346,000.
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LATEST NEWS
'We Are In Complete Shock': Israel Bombs Last Fully Functioning Hospital in North Gaza
"Once again we repeat: Patients, health workers, and hospitals must be protected. The aid blockade must be lifted. Cease-fire," the WHO chief said.
Apr 13, 2025
Israeli forces bombed the last fully functioning hospital in northern Gaza early Sunday morning, killing at least three people, including a 12-year-old boy.
The missile attack on al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City is the latest in what has been described as Israel's "campaign of genocide" to systematically attack Gaza's healthcare infrastructure, which has damaged 33 out of Gaza's 36 hospitals.
The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which manages al-Ahli hospital, said in a statement Sunday that it condemned the attack "in the strongest possible terms."
"The Diocese of Jerusalem is appalled at the bombing of the hospital now for the fifth time since the beginning of the war in 2023—and this time on the morning of Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week," the diocese said. "We call upon all governments and people of goodwill to intervene to stop all kinds of attacks on medical and humanitarian institutions. We pray and call for the end of this horrific war and the suffering of so many."
According to the diocese, patients and health workers were only given 20 minutes to evacuate before two missiles struck, destroying the hospital's genetic laboratory and damaging the pharmacy, emergency department, and the neighboring St. Philip’s church.
"We are in complete shock," Dr. Yousef Al-Haddad, a physiotherapy specialist at the hospital, told Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP). "As I speak to you, I'm surrounded by piles of rubble and destruction. The laboratory was the only one in Gaza that provided a range of tests unavailable in any other hospital—and now it's been entirely lost. Emergency and reception services were shared between the al-Ahli Hospital and al-Shifa Hospital, with our hospital taking the lead as it was the only hospital equipped with a CT scanner. Now, following last night's attack, these services have entirely ceased. This will undoubtedly increase the pressure on al-Shifa Hospital, which is already operating with a smaller capacity."
In the rushed evacuation, critically ill patients had to be moved into the streets in the cold. While no one died in blast itself, the hurried evacuation resulted in three deaths, including that of a 12-year-old boy who was being treated for a head injury.
"He was on oxygen, as were the two other patients, and the family basically walked with them to a nearby hospital, a very small facility with no capacity for the number of patients heading their way," Razan al-Nahhas, an emergency doctor who had previously worked at the hospital, told Al Jazeera. "And they [the patients] arrived dead."
A Red Crescent doctor told Middle East Eye that finding space for the evacuated patients could be difficult.
"All the hospitals are overcrowded and are unprepared for providing full medical services, this will surely reflect on the health of the wounded, the patients and it could result in the loss of their lives, the loss of their body parts, or could cause long-term disability," he said.
"Faith leaders in our nation and worldwide must speak out against the war of extermination being waged by Israel using the support of the U.S. government and with American taxpayer dollars."
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on social media that 50 patients had been moved to other hospitals, while 40 were too ill or injured to relocate.
"Hospitals are protected under international humanitarian law," Gheybreyesus continued. "Attacks on healthcare must stop. Once again we repeat: Patients, health workers, and hospitals must be protected. The aid blockade must be lifted. Cease-fire."
MAP called on the international community "to take immediate action to protect Gaza's hospitals and medical personnel."
"There must be an immediate and permanent cease-fire, an end to all arms transfers to Israel, and full accountability for repeated violations of international law, including the deliberate targeting of hospitals," the group wrote. "Israel must be held to its legal obligation to repair the destruction it has caused to Gaza's health infrastructure and allow unimpeded humanitarian access in line with the orders of the International Court of Justice."
Al-Ahli Hospital first grabbed international attention early in the war, when a bombing in October 2023 killed hundreds of people. At the time, Israel denied that it had launched the attack. However, since then, it has attacked the hospital four times including on Sunday.
Religious groups also condemned the timing of the attack on Palm Sunday, a sacred celebration for Christians in Palestine and around the world.
The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine said, "The attack, carried out on Palm Sunday, one of the holiest days in the Christian calendar, constitutes a grave violation of religious sanctity and fundamental principles of international humanitarian law."
"The far-right Israeli government has shown time and again it is willing to violate religious norms, whether targeting Palestinian Christians or Muslims, in its genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people," the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement. "Faith leaders in our nation and worldwide must speak out against the war of extermination being waged by Israel using the support of the U.S. government and with American taxpayer dollars. We call on the Trump administration to similarly condemn this attack."
Israel, for its part, said that the hospital was targeted because it was a "command and control" center for the militant group Hamas, according to Middle East Eye. However, it did not provide any evidence.
The hospital bombing was only one of several attacks carried out by Israel in Gaza on Sunday, which together killed at least 21 people, The Associated Press reported.
It also followed Israel's claim on Saturday that it had succeeded in isolating Rafah in the south from the rest of the Gaza Strip, according to Al Jazeera. Israel had promised to cordon off the city earlier in the week.
As of Sunday, the Gaza's Health Ministry said that Israel's assault on Gaza since October 7, 2023 had killed at least 50,944 Palestinians and injured 116,156. More than 1,500 of those deaths have occurred since Israel ended a tentative cease-fire on March 18.
Gov. Shapiro and Family Evacuated From Governor's Mansion After Arson Attack
"Thank God no one was injured and the fire was extinguished," Shapiro said.
Apr 13, 2025
Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family were evacuated early Sunday morning after an apparent arson attack on the official governor's residence.
"Last night at about 2:00 am, my family and I woke up to bangs on the door from the Pennsylvania State Police after an arsonist set fire to the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg," Shapiro said in a statement posted on social media.
The Harrisburg Bureau of Fire responded to the fire, which "caused a significant amount of damage to a portion of the residence" before it was "successfully extinguished," the Pennsylvania State Police said in a statement. The fire was in a different part of the house from where the governor and his family were staying.
"While the investigation is ongoing, the State Police is prepared to say at this time that this was an act of arson," their statement read.
Shapiro was considered a leading contender to serve as former Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate in the 2024 election. He has been floated as a potential Democratic presidential candidate in the 2028 election.
Shapiro and his family celebrated Passover the night before the fire.
In his message, Shapiro expressed gratitude for the first responders.
"Thank God no one was injured and the fire was extinguished," he said.
Police offered up to $10,000 for any information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
"No additional information will be released at this time. However, this is a fast-moving investigation, and details will be provided as appropriate," the police concluded.
The attack comes as there is growing concern over political violence in the U.S., as The New York Times explained:
Recent high-profile incidents of violence directed at political figures have helped feed fear and unease among Americans, polls have shown. Before the presidential election last year, for instance, about 4 in 10 voters said they were extremely or very concerned about violent attempts to challenge the outcome. The assassination attempt against President Trump last summer took place in Butler, Pennsylvania, a little over 200 miles west of Harrisburg.
Pennsylvania's Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis, a Democrat, was one of several state leaders who spoke out against politically motivated violence in their response to the fire.
"I won't speculate on motivations," he wrote on social media, "but I will say that targeting elected officials and their family members with violence is never acceptable. These sorts of acts deter good people from pursuing public service at a time when we desperately need more Americans to participate in our democracy."
Following Record-Breaking LA Rally, Sanders Takes Fighting Message to Coachella
"We need you to stand up to fight for justice—fight for economic justice, social justice, and racial justice," Sanders told the festivalgoers.
Apr 13, 2025
Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders capped off a record-breaking Los Angeles stop on his "Fighting Oligarchy" tour with Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Saturday by making a surprise appearance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California.
Sanders took the festival stage Saturday night to introduce singer-songwriter Clairo—whom he praised for using her platform to fight for women's rights and "to try to end the terrible, brutal war in Gaza." Before introducing the singer, he shared a message with the young people in the crowd.
"The country faces some very difficult challenges, and the future of what happens to America is dependent upon your generation," Sanders said to cheers. "Now you can turn away and you can ignore what goes on, but if you do that, you do it at your own peril. We need you to stand up to fight for justice—fight for economic justice, social justice, and racial justice."
Sanders criticized U.S. President Donald Trump in particular for his denial of the climate emergency.
"Now we've got a president of the United States," Sanders began, only to be interrupted by a chorus of boos.
"I agree," he said, continuing to lament that Trump "thinks climate change is a hoax. He is dangerously wrong."
Sanders: We’ve got a president of the United States who— Crowd: Boooo Sanders: I agree
[image or embed]
— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) April 12, 2025 at 10:14 PM
"You and I are going to have to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and tell them to stop destroying this planet," Sanders said.
He also urged the audience to stand up for women's rights, an economy that prioritizes the working class over billionaires, and the right to healthcare.
His speech at Coachella came after he addressed a crowd of tens of thousands with Ocasio-Cortez at Los Angeles' Gloria Molina Grand Park Saturday afternoon. Writing on social media, Sanders said the event drew a crowd of 36,000, breaking the record he and the New York representative set in Denver in March.
"Your presence here today is making Donald Trump and Elon Musk very nervous," Sanders said as he announced the record to the crowed.
The pair repeated many of the themes that have defined the "Fight Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here" tour since Sanders launched it in February to counter both the billionaire takeover of the U.S. government and the move toward authoritarianism under Trump.
"We're living in a moment where a handful of billionaires control the economic and political life… We're living in a moment where the president has no understanding or respect for the Constitution of the United States, and let us make no doubt about it, moving us rapidly toward an authoritarian form of society," Sanders said Saturday afternoon, as the Los Angeles Daily News reported.
"And, Mr. Trump, we ain't going down," he said.
Ocasio-Cortez called out "Trump's corrupt and disastrous tariff scheme" that played out over the past week, in which the president announced new tariffs on Tuesday only to declare a pause when the market fell, causing it to rally again. The incident has sparked suspicions of insider trading.
"It's been despair every day. And being around all these people and hearing these messages is helpful right now."
"I hope that we all see now that the White House's tariff shuffle here didn't have anything to do with manufacturing like they claimed," she said. "It was about manipulating the markets. It was about hurting retirees and everyday people in the sell-off, so Trump could quietly enrich his friends whom he nudged to buy the dip before reversing it all in the morning."
AOC also criticized the culture of playing the stock market in U.S. Congress, saying the body and its members "have somehow conditioned itself to actually believe that it is normal for elected representatives who swear an oath to the American people to day trade individual stocks that make millions with the sensitive information we are entrusted with for the purpose of governing."
"How can anyone possibly make an objective vote on healthcare, energy, or war when their personal money is tied up in pharmaceutical, oil and gas, or defense company stock?" she asked, before concluding, "They can't."
At Saturday's rally, the two lawmakers were also joined by musical guests Neil Young, Joan Baez, The Red Pears, Maggie Rogers, Indigo de Souza, and the Raise Gospel Choir, as well as other progressive politicians and community leaders including Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), District 1 LA City Councilmember Eunissess Hernandez, California Labor Federation President Lorena Gonzalez, and SEIU President April Verrett.
The event inspired hope in several of the 36,000 attendees, with Myylo Lewis of Silver Lake, California telling The Guardian that Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders were the "closest thing to a version of America you actually want to live in."
"I needed this right now," 32-year-old Tracy Setto of Palmdale told the Los Angeles Daily News. "It's been despair every day. And being around all these people and hearing these messages is helpful right now."
David Rasmussen, meanwhile, felt inspired.
"We've all got to rise up together, fight it, push it back, make something else happen because this cannot go on," Rasmussen told Al Jazeera.
The Los Angeles event was the first in a five-day Western swing of the tour. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez will next appear in Salt Lake City on Sunday evening, followed by stops in Nampa, Idaho; Bakersfield, California; Folsom, California; and Missoula, Montana.
"The American people, whether they are Democrats, Republicans, or Independents, do not want billionaires to control our government or buy our elections," Sanders said in a statement announcing the Western part of his tour. "They do not want Republicans to decimate Social Security and the Veterans Administration. They do not want huge tax breaks for the wealthiest people in the country paid for by massive cuts to Medicaid and other programs that working families rely on. That is why I will be visiting Republican-held districts all over the Western United States. When we are organized and fight back, we can defeat oligarchy."
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