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GENEVA, June 12-- World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that it's concerned that many countries, particularly the global south, are still on the upswing of the COVID-19 pandemic, and again called for global solidarity to overcome difficulties for "over 100 years." "We are concerned that we are still very much on the upswing of this pandemic in many countries, particularly of the global south," Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director of WHO Health Emergencies Program, said on Friday at a virtual press conference in Geneva. "First and foremost, most of the world right now is still very much in the throws of the first wave of this pandemic. Some countries in Europe, in Southeast Asia, North America have been through the peak of a wave of infection," he explained. "The current uptick in cases in some countries ... (is) related to (the) reopening of society, re-mixing of people and being in a situation without adequate social distancing, without adequate measures in place. And without adequate capacity to isolate tests, isolate suspect cases and quarantine contacts, the disease can return again," Ryan said. Meanwhile, "it's not surprising at all that any country coming out of lockdown can have clusters of disease, re-emergence of disease and clusters -- that's not necessarily a second wave," he added. Ryan said that careful balance must be struck "between keeping everyone at home and continuing to completely suppress transmission of COVID-19" -- "a public health dilemma" that "has to be carefully managed and balanced by every government every minute of every day." | 
