In a recent statement from the head of the Centers For Disease Control (CDC), a second wave of the coronavirus, COVID-19, that is expected this winter could prove to be much deadlier than the current pandemic that much of the world is experiencing.
In a statement to the Washington Post, CDC Director Robert Redfield said: “There’s a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through.” Redfield went on to say that it would most likely also coincide during the peak of the flu season.
What does this mean exactly? It means that if two outbreaks were occurring simultaneously with respiratory-type infections, there would be a dramatic strain on the overall health care system.
The first wave of the coronavirus that the nation is still in the midst of, known now to many as COVID-19, has already reportedly taken the lives of close to 100,000 Americans. Because of such a high mortality number, Redfield feels that both federal and state officials need to take the upcoming months, before the fall season arrives, to prepare the nation for a worst-case scenario.
As many states are looking towards, if not already having done so, lifting their stay-at-home mandates, it is Redfield stresses that it is of the utmost importance that all government officials make sure it is understood that residents need to maintain their social distancing and hand washing routines.
An effort that President Trump himself backed on his Twitter page, of those residents protesting against the continued stay-at-home orders, and demanding that all the states be “liberated” from such restrictions, Redfield felt was “not helpful.”
So, the question of the moment is this—could there possibly be a second wave of stay-at-home orders coming if there is indeed a second wave of coronavirus?
One governor that of Kay Ivey of Alabama said it best: “We cannot sustain a delayed way of life as we search for a vaccine. There are many viruses we live with and incorporate necessary precautions into our daily lives. Having a life means having a livelihood, too.”
At this time, it is not really clear how many states are preparing for their reopening, or for that matter the second wave of infections. There are those states that have plans in place to possibly reversing the openings in an effort to protect its residents. However, there are also others that don’t even take in to account for the second wave of COVID-19 occurring at all.
Should all the states be mandated to have a worst-case scenario in place?