WHO chief warned countries that want to ease the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, be prepared to quickly respond to a second outbreak, WHO press service reported.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus remarks came at the G20 health ministers virtual meeting.

“We are encouraged that several G20 countries are now starting to plan how to ease social restrictions. It is critical that these measures are a phased process. Lifting so-called lockdown restrictions is not the end of the epidemic in any country; it’s just the beginning of the next phase. It’s vital in this next phase that countries educate, engage and empower their people to prevent and respond rapidly to any resurgence; To ensure they have the capacity to detect, test, isolate and care for every case, and trace every contact,” he noted. “And to ensure their health systems have the capacity to absorb any increase in cases. We are deeply concerned that the virus now appears to be gathering pace in countries that lack the capacity of many G20 countries to respond to it.

He urged each of the countries to continue to fight the pandemic with determination, guided by science and evidence.