Washington: Almost half of the states in the United States are reporting increased numbers of new COVID-19 cases as health experts warn of a potential second wave appearing in the fall and winter. The surge in cases is hammering rural America and smaller cities and raising anxiety in New York and others.
However, many experts are anticipating a spike in cases—but some say that may not translate into an equally dramatic spike in deaths.
In 34 states, the seven-day average of new cases is higher now than it was a month ago. Although the virus has waned in populous states including California and Florida, it is wreaking unprecedented havoc in the Midwest and making an incipient return in parts of the Northeast, Bloomberg reported.
William Schaffner, an infectious disease professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee said the lack of adequate social distancing and masking in rural areas may combine with the coming cold weather and influenza, possibly resulting in a ‘twin-demic’ that further strains the health-care system.
Meanwhile, most attention has turned to President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House on Monday evening after being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for the disease that has killed about 210,000 Americans so far.
Across the country, there were 49,036 new cases reported on Monday, bringing the total to 7,305,270, according to the World Health Organisation.
Similar concerns are emerging in Canada. Public Health Agency of Canada reported a near tripling of cases in the last five weeks, with young people under the age of 40 contributing to the majority of cases.