You snooze you lose?
Wash your hands, sanitize high-touch objects like your phone, wear a mask when you leave the house, and avoid touching your face.
Another lockdown is the most immediate way to slow another surge. New Zealand has been a world leader on the COVID-19 front, and they’ve also put aside funds in case a second wave hits.
A second wave begins after, with a sustained rise in infections. Places like New Zealand and Beijing, who had many consecutive virus-free days, can’t be classified as experiencing a “second wave” when a small number of new cases appear.
To identify a second wave, the virus would first have to be brought under considerable control with a substantial drop in cases.
The public confusion on whether asymptomatic cases can be infectious, whether you can get the virus twice, who is susceptible, and how the virus spreads are all factors that increase the likelihood of a second wave.
As the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, each country is trying to figure out the best way to manage its population, economy, and health systems while COVID-19 continues to spread at any opportunity it is given. While preventative measures were put in place, governments are struggling with keeping restrictions up—not to mention most people’s general unwillingness to stay in confinement.
Enter: the “second wave.” You’ve probably heard of people speculating about the resurgence of the virus, but is it inevitable? What causes it? And what does it really mean? Click through to find out.
Fortunately, many experts say a second wave can’t be as dangerous as the first simply because we know much more about the virus now, and we’re equipped with strategies to slow the spread.
The primary way to slow the spread of the virus is to stay home as much as possible. The next option is to use a mask and socially distance at all times.
Though it varies greatly around the world, many are worried that winter may be a dangerous time, as other coronaviruses spread more readily during that season.
Going off historical information from past pandemics, there are three stages: the outbreak, the peak, and the fall, resembling a bell curve.
The value of R—the average number of people each infected person passed the virus to—was 3 at the start of the pandemic, which was very fast. Since then, it has dropped all over the world.
Many cities have already experienced this resurgence of infections as a direct response to lifted restrictions, though most were not yet out of the clear with the first wave.
While the vaccine is in the works, there is no guarantee of when it will be available, with many estimates placing it at 2021 at the earliest.
No one wants to give up their daily comforts and routines, but we have to think in the long-term. The more we temporarily give up now, the faster we’ll be able to return to those daily comforts and routines once again. If not, we may all face a second wave.
Cities will try to reopen as soon as possible to help the economy, but as a previously confined population rushes prematurely back into “normal,” the virus will inevitably rise again.
Ironically, the people who should be worried about a second wave are those who seem to be nearing the clear, who are comforted by falling numbers of cases.
The biggest trigger for a second wave is lifting lockdown restrictions. The difficulty is that lockdowns, while being our best defense against the virus, have caused massive disruption, from jobs to mental health to schooling, and more, as well as the fact that people may take things too far.
Each country has its own factors that contribute to the spread and shape of the virus, including the state of their health systems before the pandemic arrived. The shape of the virus waves are a reflection of what's happening in each society.
Everything you need to know about a second wave
Could COVID-19 resurge with more power?
HEALTH Covid-19
As the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, each country is trying to figure out the best way to manage its population, economy, and health systems while COVID-19 continues to spread at any opportunity it is given. While preventative measures were put in place, governments are struggling with keeping restrictions up—not to mention most people’s general unwillingness to stay in confinement.
Enter: the “second wave.” You’ve probably heard of people speculating about the resurgence of the virus, but is it inevitable? What causes it? And what does it really mean? Click through to find out.