Americans must prepare for a second wave of COVID-19 to spread across the United States, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director said on March 26, warning the deadly virus could become seasonal.
Redfield explained that respiratory viruses, like the CCP virus, have a tendency to be seasonal.
“We don’t know for certain that this virus is going to follow the pattern of flu, but I think it’s a reasonable hypothesis to be prepared for, that this may in fact die out,” Redfield added. “Not to say that the war is over, but basically recognizing that we need to get even more prepared for the next wave.”
“I think eventually the virus will find a foothold and we will get community-based transmission,” he said at the time.
His comments came as the U.S. government’s foremost infectious disease expert warned that the United States could experience more than 100,000 deaths and millions of infections as a result of the CCP virus pandemic.
“We’re going to have millions of cases,” he said, adding, “I don’t want to be held to that,” as the pandemic is “such a moving target.”
Experts have said that most of the people who suffer from COVID-19 have mild or moderate symptoms that don’t require hospitalizations or intensive care. The fatality rate is higher among elderly people and individuals with underlying health problems.
The pandemic has upended everyday life around the world, causing closures of businesses and schools as federal and state officials seek to enforce measures to curb the spread of the disease.
The White House on Sunday extended its guidelines for stopping the spread of the CCP virus to April 30.