Sharjah24 – Reuters: Countries should be more careful and slow down on easing restriction measures, the head of emergency programme at the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned on Monday (July 5).

While several countries in Europe are easing restrictions, Mike Ryan added that the pandemic is not over and that a possible new wave that could arrive in autumn.

"I think overall, we've made a very premature run rush back to full normality and I think we are going to pay our price for that", Ryan said during a social media event.

"We are opening way to quickly for the epidemiological situation and the risk that associates with that", he added.

"Remember last summer when we had everything got good and then, everyone kind of relaxed and then we kind of arrived in September and October and ended up in huge trouble. I think that's where we are going again with a much more transmissible variant this time around", he said.

Ryan reminded that countries in Americas were still reporting one million cases every week, and Europe half a million.

While the new wave is "not inevitable", he urged for caution so as to avoid seeing people running around looking for oxygen or swamped hospitals.

"By the time you've got to that situation, you are so far down the road in a given wave in the pandemic that it is almost too late", he said.

He also raised concerns about the lack of funding for WHO, stressing that the organisation is unable to use some of its donations freely.

"I am very, personally disappointed at the level of funding that we have received in this response. I find it, frankly shameful", he said.