South Korean health officials warned on Thursday about a second wave of the coronavirus as the country confirmed 45 additional cases of the virus.
The daily rise has been consistent since May but experts are still warning about the possibility of a second wave of the epidemic.
“Considering the quick transmission of COVID-19, there’s limits to what we can do with contact tracing alone to slow the spread,” said Yoon Tae-ho, a senior Health Ministry official during a virus briefing on Thursday.
Taeho urged residents to continue to stay home to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The director of Korea’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Jung Eun-kyeong echoed the warnings on Thursday stating that health officials “chase transmissions after belatedly discovering them.”
The comments come as many European countries, among the hardest hit by the epidemic, are reopening despite hundreds of new confirmed cases daily.
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European leaders criticised for handling of coronavirus crisis
Giuseppe Conte will appear before prosecutors in Bergamo, the worst-hit city in Italy with hundreds of daily deaths at the height of the pandemic.
Conte is set to answer questions over his handling of the pandemic after relatives filed complaints over the deaths of family members due to COVID-19.
“Citizens have the right to know and we have an institutional responsibility to answer in all the institutional forums and in front of our citizens even informally sometimes,” Conte told reporters on Thursday.
In France, the Paris prosecutor opened an investigation earlier this week into the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Prosecutor Remy Heitz said possible charges against the government include endangering the lives of others, involuntary homicide, failure to assist those in danger, and willingly abstaining from fighting a threat.
This too comes after at least 62 complaints were filed with the prosecutor’s office from people impacted by the coronavirus crisis.
‘This isn’t over,’ World Health Organization experts warn
World Health Organization experts warned on Wednesday that the coronavirus pandemic was still accelerating and that even countries that have managed to suppress their epidemics need to remain vigilant.
“We are seeing an acceleration in many areas and this isn’t over,” said Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization (WHO)’s technical lead for COVID-19.
“Even in countries that have had the success in suppressing transmission, there is that risk that a resurgence remains,” she added.
“If we look at the numbers over the last number of weeks, this pandemic is still evolving,” said WHO’s director of health emergencies Dr Mike Ryan.
“It is still growing in many parts of the world and we have deep concerns that health systems in some countries are struggling and they are under a huge strain and require our support and our help and our solidarity,” he added.