Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a great deal has been said about a so-called “second” or even “third” wave that could arise. According to an official with the World Health Organization (WHO), COVID-19 could be one big wave, not a seasonal one.
“We are in the first wave. It’s going to be one big wave. It’s going to go up and down a bit. The best thing is to flatten it and turn it into just something lapping at your feet,” WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris said during a virtual briefing in Geneva, according to Reuters.
Harris noted the high case numbers during the summer to highlight the fact that COVID-19 does not seem to slow according to the weather, urging vigilance against mass gatherings. If COVID-19 were to be a seasonal problem, it would be coinciding with traditional flu cases in the fall and winter months.
“People are still thinking about seasons. What we all need to get our heads around is this is a new virus and … this one is behaving differently,” she said. “Summer is a problem. This virus likes all weather.”
Harris urged vaccinations against the flu to avoid a dual-threat in the coming months.
“If you have an increase in a respiratory illness when you already have a very high burden of respiratory illness, that puts even more pressure on the health system,” she said.
As The Daily Wire reported last week, U.S. coronavirus cases may be on the verge of leveling off as hotspot states see slowdown in new infections:
A new report in Axios indicates that the number of new coronavirus cases in the United States appears to be “leveling off,” and hotspot states like Texas, Arizona, and Florida are seeing a slowdown, though many still have not reached a “peak” in the number of infections.
“After weeks of explosive growth, the number of new infections in the U.S. is still climbing — but not quite as fast as it has been,” Axios reported Thursday, alongside a map that shows the majority of states now seeing their number of new cases holding steady.
Although the report is not necessarily good news — the United States, the outlet says, is still averaging a shocking 66,000 new cases of COVID-19 per day — the new information seems promising. Over the last month, coronavirus infections grew at a rate of 20% per week; last week, the number of new cases rose by just 7%.
Should COVID-19 prove to be one big wave instead of a seasonal one, the likelihood increases for schools reopening in the fall. Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield has supported a general reopening of schools in the fall, arguing that America’s youth are at far greater risk from suicide, drugs, and the flu.
“It’s not risk of school openings versus public health. It’s public health versus public health,” he said. “I’m of the point of view, and I weigh that equation as an individual that has 11 grandchildren that the greater risk is actually to the nation to keep these schools closed.”
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