Epidemiologists warn on Covid-19 new wave

Epidemiologists have warned that the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic in Europe should be treated with caution in countries such as Malawi which have eased some precautionary measures.

In separate inter views yesterday, the epidemiologists said in a global village the second wave of the pandemic should not be looked at from a distance, but as a matter of concern to all humanity because of spillover effects.

International media reports indicate that countries across Europe are registering a spike in Covid-19 cases after successfully slowing the outbreak earlier this year.

With new restrictions and no national lockdowns, a majority of the countries across Europe are declaring more cases each day than they did during the first wave.

In an interview yesterday, infectious diseases expert and epidemiologist Dr Titus Divala said with the huge spike of cases in Europe countries such as Malawi should not relax.

He said: “The spike is not surprising. We knew that a second wave was coming their way and one is possibly on its way to Malawi, so we need not relax. It appears that second waves are commencing about three months from first, so if conditions are there, we may have ours from December. “

But Divala said from a public health perspective, it is a fact that there are so many unknown cases of Covid-19 which should be a cause for worry.

He said studies are showing that immunity secured after getting infected is decaying rapidly.

In a separate interview, Adamson Muula, a professor in epidemiology at College of Medicine—a constituent college of the University of Malawi, said the country needs to be on the lookout since the second wave is of concern to all humanity.

“I doubt it is sensible to take the view that since we seem to have been spared here, then this matter is not of concern to us. We are bound together in our humanity. What affects some part of the world affects us too, although the personal consequences may be different as is the case with Covid-19,” he said.

Multiple international media outlets indicate that in October fatalities from the disease rose in Germany, France, United Kingdom and Spain. Data collected by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control shows that there were 88 daily Covid-19 deaths reported by France on October 16.

In recent weeks, Malawi has been registering few cases of Covid-19 with no deaths. Recoveries, on the other hand, have been increasing.

The first cases of Covid-19 in the country was registered on April 2, 2020. But prior to that, government on March 23 closed both public and private schools as one way of avoiding further spread of the pandemic.